


Kaisei

by ShinjiShazaki



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: AU, F/F, revisionist AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-07
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-07 03:16:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/426345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinjiShazaki/pseuds/ShinjiShazaki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Kaisei</i>, noun: revision; amendment.</p><p>Postulating two changes to canon: what if Korra had taken just a little more time to talk to people, and what if she had met Asami before the fabulous bending brothers?</p><p>Further amendments to follow.</p><p>This story will not be continued.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shuto no Hourounin

**Author's Note:**

> _Shuto no Hourounin_ : The City's Wanderers

When she was young, the White Lotus compound had seemed so vast. It was new to her, new to the entire South Pole, new even to the White Lotus members themselves. She had been fascinated by the idea of being in a place where bending was not only acceptable, but encouraged. It had been liberating to her then. Standing on the wharf of Republic City, as fresh off the boat as anyone could possibly be, Korra was made aware of how tiny her world really had been. She sat in Naga’s saddle and trembled, not one shred of anxiety in her veins. The statue of Avatar Aang looked in on the city, serene and strong, and Korra felt the urge to laugh with the joy of finally knowing how enormous the world was.

“Okay, Naga,” she said, and pointed across the bay. “That’s Air Temple Island over there. Ready to go for a swim?”

Naga chuffed, wagging her head back and forth. Sniffing hard, she turned them away and trotted off quickly to the nearest large street. Korra heard the polar bear-dog’s stomach rumble and started to laugh, but the first satomobile that had to swerve out of their way, horn blaring, forced the laughter back down her throat. The second swerving car smashed into the third, and she pulled back hard on the reins.

“Off the street, girl!” she snapped. Naga responded to the sharp jab of a heel to her flank by bounding off the thoroughfare, but she continued to lope along speedily enough to warrant angry shouts from pedestrians that leaped out of their way. Wincing, Korra called out, “Sorry! Sorry, look out! Polar bear-dog on your left! Excuse us!” When the gallop slowed to a hunter’s crawl, she was almost grateful. Almost, because the last thing she wanted to see was Naga cramming her head inside the back curtain of a streetside food stall. The telltale wet _click_ of Naga’s mouth opening wide made her sigh, slump forward in the saddle, and tuck her head and shoulders past the curtain.

“Naga, _wait_.”

Whining low, Naga pulled back her tongue and closed her mouth. Korra slid from the saddle and hurried to one of the open sides of the stall. Steaming warm skewers of meat and vegetables sat packed together in a long tray; a small pile of dumplings were perched atop a broad plate; and a pot of soup was set to one side. The stall attendant stared open-mouthed and unabashedly at Naga, but her gaze was far less baffled when she turned to Korra.

“Sorry about that,” Korra said, smiling with genuine contrition. She picked up the nearest skewer and gave it a careful sniff. Her mouth watered, and her smile took on eagerness. “We’ll take one of everything.”

The prospect of business snapped the woman fully from her reverie, and she replied, “That’ll be twenty yuan.”

The coin purse on her belt was suddenly very heavy with its lack of contents. “I...don’t actually have any money.”

The polite, professional look on the woman’s face shattered as she snatched the skewer out of Korra’s hand. “Then what good are you to me?”

“But I just--”

The woman waved at her impatiently, shooing her away with the skewer still in hand. With a long sigh, Korra turned and started away. Naga followed after her, whimpering and snuffling. She patted Naga’s neck, scratching hard on the thick fur.

“Don’t worry, girl,” she murmured. “It’s a big city. We can find something to eat soon, I’m sure.”

Dismay came when she found she was only half right. The city streets were sprawling, varied in width and length and patterned in a grid she found impenetrable. Food stalls and fruit stands and grocery stores abounded, but her coin purse never gained a yuan as she and Naga wandered. The most they received for their walking was the stares people aimed at Naga, entirely out of place amidst satomobiles and trolleys. Korra kept them moving ever inward, away from the port and keeping to the quieter, more pedestrian-filled streets. Eventually, when the sun had passed from morning to high noon, they blundered into a park that seemed just as wide as the city encompassing it.

Naga let out a bark that startled nearby park patrons and charged straight for the meandering, clean lake at the heart of the park. Korra was close behind her, jogging across the tiny hillocks and splashing through the many shallows of the lake. By the time she arrived, Naga was already face-deep in the water, and she looked up with two fish tails hanging out of her mouth. Korra grinned.

“That’s a good polar bear-dog,” she crooned. Hopping over the last shallow, she reached into a nearby bush for branches. When her hand closed on fabric, however, she gasped and pulled hard on instinct. A bearded, gray-haired man in ragged clothing came along for the ride, yelping as he was hauled from the bush. Only for a moment did surprise show on his face; when the moment passed he smiled in a most charming manner despite lacking a tooth. He allowed her to pull him upright, and he straightened the line of his patched and hole-peppered waistcoat.

“Hello there, pretty lady!” he said. “You’ve got a funny way of knocking on a man’s door, but then I suppose I’ve got a funny front door.”

“‘Front door’?” she asked. “Are you saying you live in--the bush?”

He nodded, plucking a piece of straw from behind his ear as he did; before speaking he popped it in his mouth. “That is indeed what I call home nowadays.” With a fond look in his eyes, he sighed, “It took me quite a while to get such a lovely piece of land.” He flicked his eyes out to Naga, raising his brows at the fish in her mouth.

“Say there,” he said, voice lilting. “Are you and your fine companion doing a bit of fishing?”

“Uh, yeah,” she replied. “We needed some food, but I don’t have any money to pay. I’m glad there’s fish to catch.”

He hummed and nodded, stroking his beard. “I see, I see.” He straightened his waistcoat again before holding out a hand to gesture at the lake. “If I were to share a few branches from my humble abode, would you perhaps be willing to share in your catch?”

“Oh,” she said. “Well--sure. Why not? It looks like there’s more than enough to share.” She whistled to Naga and flashed four fingers. The polar bear-dog swept her head through the water to catch four fish and waded through the water to the hillock. The man offered a branch for each fish, but huffed a sigh when Korra crouched down and stuck the fish skewers into the ground.

“I’m sorry to admit it,” he said, “but I haven’t got a single match in my house. A bit dangerous, you see.”

She laughed. “No, don’t worry.” Grinning broadly, she held out the first two fingers on her hands. In two quick bursts of firebending from each hand, she roasted the fish to perfection.

The man whistled admiringly as he sank down next to her. “Well, I’ll be. A Water Tribe firebender! You’re a rare sight, even in a diverse place like our fair city.” He held out a hand to her, saying, “I’m Bingwen. It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss?”

“Korra,” she said, and shook his hand. She smiled, but it faltered as she handed him a fish. It disappeared altogether at the way he devoured the fish, barely pausing for breath or caution for bones. She offered him his second fish and he ate more slowly, but her smile did not return. “Hey, about the whole ‘fair city’ thing. Are...are there a lot of--uh--people like you?”

He nodded, mouth too full of fish to smile. When he swallowed, he said, “Oh, indeed there are, Miss Korra. This park here is quite popular with us vagabonds, which is why it took me so long to acquire my home.”

She picked up a fish for herself and took a bite, but a strange emptiness she’d never felt had taken residence in her stomach and made her queasy. “But that’s not a home. You don’t even have a roof.”

Bingwen shrugged. “I’ve got a roof. There’s leaves enough to keep me fairly dry during storms. But I do admit that I probably _won’t_ have my roof come winter.” He reached out and stroked a patch of leaves that were turning yellow. “We’re heading into autumn, after all.”

“This is Republic City,” Korra mumbled. “I thought everyone’s supposed to be living the high life.”

He laughed, and the unkindness in it made Korra jump. “Then you have a lot to learn! This _is_ the high life for a man like me.”

“What makes you so different?”

“I’m a man whose luck ran out.” He used one of his empty sticks to point out to the city. “Back when I had luck, I lived in one of those fancy shops you must have passed by on your way here. I owned it, in fact! ‘The Gold Scroll,’ I called it, and it was a very good store for many years. But my luck died, and the Triple Threat Triad came into the neighborhood.”

“The what?”

“The Triple Threat Triad, Miss Korra,” he replied. “One of the bending gangs here in the city.”

“‘Bending _gangs_ ’? There are hoodlums here who use bending?”

He laughed again, but the sound was a touch brighter than before. “I like your choice of words! And of course there are. Sadly, the hoodlums in this story didn’t much care for books. They wanted my money and my property, and so they broke down the door with their earthbending, ruined my books with waterbending, and chased me out before destroying everything with firebending. It was textbook for _that_ gang. Since no bank wants to give out loans to shopkeepers trying to rebuild in that part of town, I’ve been here and there ever since.”

“Wow,” Korra said slowly, and sighed hard. “I can’t believe your luck changed like that--and because of benders. I’m really sorry.”

Bingwen hesitated, but reached over to pat her on the back. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I hope you’re not feeling down all of a sudden for _being_ a bender. Any grudge I’ve got is with the Triple Threat Triad, not benders at large. I still think bending is a noble art! And it just so happens that my favorite stories are all about benders, especially the Avatar!” He chuckled, and Korra heard sadness in the sound. “We could certainly _use_ the Avatar nowadays.”

She smiled and started to open her mouth. Before she could speak, a sharp whistle broke the stillness of the park around them. Bingwen was on his feet in an instant and halfway back to his bush in two. Korra turned around and spotted a heavyset policeman hurrying across the bridge to their hillock.

“You can’t fish here!” the man shouted.

“Best skedaddle, Miss Korra!” Bingwen said. He snapped off a brief salute, grinning broadly. “Come and visit sometime! My front door is always open to friends!” As he leaped into his bush, Korra whistled for Naga. Well before the policeman arrived, Naga was gone and far away enough that he did not think of following them. Korra watched over her shoulder until she was sure the policeman did not harass Bingwen in his home. Only when he turned about did she take a bite of one of her rescued fish skewers. Naga slowed to a plodding trot to let her eat, and Korra let her decide where to go.

Like any other animal, it was loud noise that inevitably drew Naga’s attention, and feedback from a speakerphone more than counted as loud. She ferried Korra toward a crowd gathered around a platform. As they drew closer, Korra saw the man standing atop the platform, as well as the banners hung up around him. A masked man looked out on the crowd from the banners, as did a slogan demanding equality.

“ _If you’re tired of the bending elite ruling our lives, then join the Equalists!_ ” the man on the platform yowled into the speakerphone. “ _For far too long, we non-benders have been treated as lower-class citizens! Well, we say no more! Join the Equalists, and our leader, Amon, will show us the way to a better future, free of the tyranny of bending!_ ”

Pride tinged thickly with anger rose up in her chest, and so Korra loudly said, “What are you talking about? Bending is the coolest thing in the world!”

The man on the platform turned a contemptuous eye on her, sneering broadly enough that she could see it around the speakerphone. “Oh, _really_?” he drawled. He looked her up and down. “I bet _you’re_ a bender.”

She crossed her arms and smirked to match his sneer. “Yeah, I am. What of it?”

“I’ll make another bet!” he replied. “I’ll bet that you want to knock me down off this platform with some waterbending.”

“You’re not making a good argument for me to _not_ do that.” She paused for a moment before adding, “But I won’t because I’m not a hoodlum. Not all benders are bad people!”

The man scoffed loudly, the speakerphone squealing. “Oh, _please_! You’d just as soon knock me down as the _rest_ of the benders here! You’re all the same, you benders. You only ever use your bending to _oppress_ people!”

She jerked back in the saddle, eyes widening. Her pride was entirely overwhelmed by anger, and she snapped, “I’m not oppressing anyone! You--you’re just making yourselves out to be oppressed!”

Based on how instantaneously the crowd turned on her, Korra understood that it was, perhaps, the worst thing to have said. They jeered at her, some going as far as to spit at her. Naga snarled at a gob of spit that landed near her paw, but Korra turned her away and gave her a gentle kick to the flanks. They left quickly, Naga snorting as they went. As they approached one of the park’s gates, the jeers were overrun by the noise of city traffic, and Korra urged Naga faster to make good their escape.

It might have been good had they gone just a bit slower. As it was, Naga bounded out into the street just in time for a moped and its rider to crash hard into her side. Naga yelped in pain; Korra yelped in surprise; and the rider let out a loud “ _oomph_!” They all crumpled to the ground, Naga after skipping toward her unstruck side, and Korra scrambled out of her saddle.

“I am so, so sorry!” she said, rushing to the rider. She hauled the moped away and caught the rider under their--her--arms. With a grunt, she picked the woman up off the ground. It took some stretching on her part to get her entirely upright, but Korra set the woman on her feet and held her steady. “Are you okay?”

The woman laughed a bit and patted at Korra’s hands. “I’m okay, calm down. Crashes are what helmets are for, after all.” When Korra had let her go, she reached up and unbuckled her helmet. Taking it from her head, she said, “I didn’t hurt your polar bear-dog, did I?”

Korra stared at her. “ _You_ hurt--no, did _we_ hurt _you_? I mean, your moped is trashed!”

The woman laughed again, tucking the helmet under one arm. “Don’t worry about it! It’s only got a couple of dents.” She held out her hand to Naga, letting her sniff it. “I’m sorry I ran into you, big guy.”

“Girl,” Korra said, response automatic.

“Oop, sorry.” After giving Naga a quick scratch under the chin, she held out her hand to Korra. “My name’s Asami.”

She took her hand and shook. “Korra.” She gave a weak chuckle. “It’s nice to get another handshake instead of getting spit at.”

Asami’s brows shot up her forehead. “ _Spat_ at? Who would do that to a sweet girl like you?”

“Well--” She stopped and looked at Asami with a raised brow. “‘Sweet’?”

Asami smiled, and Korra found it was remarkably calming for a person she had never met before. “Of course you’re sweet. You’re apologizing for an accident that happened because I was speeding again.” She looked past the park gate, leaning enough to spot the Equalist banners, the crowd gathered around them, and the man still yelling into his speakerphone. “Oh, no. You got yelled at by that group, didn’t you.” She sighed and brushed back loose strands of her hair. “They get so mad over the littlest things.”

“Being a bender seems to be a pretty big thing around here,” Korra said, voice low with dejection.

Asami’s eyes lit up. “Are you really a bender?”

She blinked. “Well...yeah.” She managed a smile. “I’d say I’m a pretty good one, too.”

“Are you a pro-bender?”

The laugh she let out then wasn’t forced in the slightest. “I _wish_! I haven’t even seen a match. I only got here today.”

Asami reached out and clasped one of Korra’s hands in hers. “Let me make it up to you--for the accident, I mean. I’ll take you to the match that’s happening in a few days, okay?”

“Um...shouldn’t _I_ be the one making it up to _you_? We messed up your moped.”

Her smile took on a bit of slyness. “Do you have the money to pay for a qualifying match?”

Once again, the emptiness of her coin purse was very heavy. “Well...okay, no, I don’t.”

“Then let me pay for your ticket. It’ll be fun!”

She was thoroughly defeated, and so she said, “Okay, okay. Let’s do it!”

Asami’s smile broadened and brightened all at once. “The next match is a week from today, so let’s get together then. Where should I send your ticket?”

“To Air Temple Island, I think,” Korra said with a shrug.

“You think?”

“Well, _technically_ I don’t live there yet.” She paused and pointed off to one side without knowing where her direction was aimed. “Do you happen to know how to get there from here?”

“Oh,” Asami said, brows rising. She looked about, putting her hand to her chin. After a moment, she snapped her fingers, the sound muffled by the leather of her glove. “Yes, I do! It’s not too far from here, actually. It’s just through a couple of neighborhoods. Want me to show you the way?”

Korra put her hands together in request, softening the pleading by winking. “I would really like that.”

Asami laughed, and Korra thought it was an even sweeter sound than before. It made her smile. “All right,” Asami said, “I’ll lead the way.” She started along, pushing her moped as she went. Korra followed at her side, and for a time the silence was all right. The park was left behind and their travels along the city streets resumed. To Korra’s ears, the noise of horns and shouting shopkeepers was much louder without the usual sounds of Naga bearing a rider. There was only the occasional squeak of a wheel on Asami’s moped, and the softer cadence of Naga’s breathing. There was nothing to distract her, and so her mind wandered back to the voices she had heard in the park.

“Do you know anything about the Equalists?” she asked abruptly as they turned a corner.

“Mostly that I don’t like them,” Asami replied, voice terse. “I don’t know how they get away with blaming benders for so much.”

Bingwen and his home in a bush floated to mind in a heartbeat. “Because there are a lot of hoodlums to blame, and for good reason.” She looked at Asami from the corner of her eye. “Is it _really_ as bad as I’ve heard about? The groups like the Triple Threat Triad?”

Asami sighed, frowning. “I hate to say so, but it is. I don’t think there are many people who haven’t had some kind of problem in their lives from benders. But it’s not like it’s every single bender goes out of their way to hurt non-benders! I don’t know where the Equalists get off saying all benders are wrong.”

Korra opened her mouth to speak, but the words stuck in her throat. She swallowed and asked quietly, “Have _you_ ever had something bad happen to you because of benders?”

Asami went silent; her face went gently twisted. “A lot of people have had bad things happen to them.” Her voice grew even quieter, and she said, “I don’t really want to talk about it, Korra.”

“No, that’s totally okay,” Korra said quickly, holding up her hands. “I’m really sorry.”

Asami sighed, but smiled again. “It’s okay.” She guided them around another corner; her smile regained its prior sweet brightness. She pointed down the street, and Korra saw the peak of the main tower on the island. “There we go, just like I thought! We’ll get you there in no time.”

But even as she spoke, another, sharper rumble of an engine sounded from the other end of the street. A fiery red and gold-grilled satomobile rounded the corner there, and it came to a halt in front of a store close by. From where she stood, Korra could see people on the other side of the street cower and try to hide inside shops. Three men emerged from the car, dressed with much less flair than their vehicle. The man at the fore of the group wore a fedora and a long gray coat, and Korra spotted a water skin strapped across his chest. The two other men were nearly identical in their clothing: high collar shirts tied down their sides and brown trousers, though the burlier man was in green and the smaller in black with a red scarf.

“Oh no,” Asami murmured.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I’m willing to bet that they’re not exactly here to buy anything..”

The anxiety on Asami’s face and the potential identity of the men made something stiffen in Korra’s spine. She rolled her head from side to side, cracking the tendons there loudly. “Oh, _really_? Then I believe I have a job to do.”

“A job? What in the world are you talking about?”

“You’ll see.” Korra grinned at her before striding forward. She saw the short man swing up his leg and strike a phonograph out of the hands of a shopkeeper, setting it ablaze, and quickened her pace enough to catch the last fragments of their conversation.

“Give us the money or else--”

“Or else _what_ , hoodlum?” Korra said loudly.

The men wheeled around to face her. After a moment of staring at her, they began to laugh. She stood her ground and waited until they grew silent. When the man in the coat looked at her, she quirked a brow at him. He snickered, but said, “Look, missy, since you’ve got the look of an idiot fresh off the boat, I’m gonna teach you a couple of things. First, you’re in Triple Threat Triad territory. Second, we’re about to put your sorry ass in the hospital.”

She laughed at them. “So you guys are Triple Threat Triad members? I’m not at all sorry to tell you that _you’re_ the ones who are going to need a hospital, but I do hope there’s one nearby.”

All their laughter and smirks became scowls instantly. The leader snarled, “Who do you think you are?”

She smirked and cracked her knuckles. “Why don’t you come find out?”

From there, it was all fluid and natural, based entirely out of reaction just like everything had been back in the compound. The man in the coat reached for his water skin and threw a hard sphere at her. She caught the water and reversed its flow, hurling it back to strike the man’s face. It splashed, and in its expansion she forced it to freeze. The man, head and hat frozen solid, stumbled forward, and she gave him a spinning kick to the head to send him toppling into the lion-faced grill of their car. As the ice shattered and the man slumped, the larger of his compatriots came forward with a snarl. He plodded along, flat-footed and easier to read than any person she had seen before. She stomped down hard before he could, throwing him high in the air with the pillar she made erupt beneath him. It was not with a little satisfaction that she watched him crash down onto a wire strung across the street, bounce up to slam into a metal sign, hit a shop’s awning, and fall into a stand. The last man gasped loudly enough for her to look at him, but it was almost unnecessary warning, given how long it took for him to start a fire blast. Coating her own hands in fire, Korra sprang forward and caught the man’s hands to stop him. She pulled him back and spun them both about, flinging the skinny wretch through the air and a shop window thereafter.

Laughing, dusting off her hands, she followed the thrown man and said, “Got a good idea about who I am now, _chumps_?”

Instead of receiving a reply of words, she was answered by the revving of an engine. She looked back in time to jump aside from the car swerving toward her. The small man jumped out of window and was immediately launched into the car thanks to a burst of stone beneath his feet. Korra’s cheer vanished in a heartbeat, and she chased after the car just long enough that she was able to raise an unbalanced ramp. The car drove up the awkward angle, nearly toppling to one side. When the wheels touched stable ground, the way the driver had wrenched the steering wheel about made the car spin out and crash into another shop.

Before she could go inspect the crash, a hand closed around her elbow. She turned to see Asami, wide-eyed and smiling. “You’re the _Avatar_?”

She grinned to match Asami’s smile. “That’s what they call me.”

“That’s so _amazing_!” she said, clapping her hands. For a moment, Korra was overwhelmed by how adorable the gesture was, and she grinned even more. Asami opened her mouth to speak again, but paused at the great shadow that fell over them and the street at large. They looked up to find an airship overhead, officious with its gold sigils and characters and immense size. A siren began to wail; Naga howled in counterpoint.

“ _This is the police_ ,” came a voice from the airship’s speaker system. “ _Stay where you are_.” Even before the last word had been started, a door along the airship’s side slid open, and three men in metal uniform leaped out into the air. They slowed their descent with wires shot from spools on their backs, landing light as bearded cats near the crash. A fourth man in a lighter officer’s hat landed soon after, and they advanced as Korra and Asami did.

“Here are the bad guys, officers,” Korra said with a smirk, gesturing to the three men shambling forth from the shop.

The lead officer jabbed his finger at the trio. “Arrest them, men.” He nodded once when the men were trussed up with bursts of wire, but took a few steps toward Korra. With another jab of his finger, he said, “ _You’re_ under arrest, too.”

Asami was the first to react beyond gaping in shock. “ _What_? You can’t do that--she _stopped_ the criminals! They were roughing up a shopkeeper, I watched it all happen!”

The officer jerked his head toward the smashed shop and the damaged road. “It looks like she did a lot more ‘roughing up’ than they did.”

“There must be _something_ I can do to change your mind,” Asami said, reaching for the coin purse on her hip.

The officer scowled at her. “Don’t make me arrest you for attempting to bribe an officer of the law.”

Korra put a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her aside. “Listen, you guys can’t arrest me--you have to let me explain.”

“You can explain as much as you like down at headquarters.” The officer lifted his right hand and fired out a set of wires. Korra swayed out of the way and snatched the wires out of the air. Pulling hard took the officer off his feet, but he responded by turning the fall into a roll. He sprang back up as his squadmates advanced, firing wires from his other arm at her feet. She let go of the wires in her hand and jumped back. Before the officer could take the opportunity to strike, Naga charged forward and rammed into him from behind. 

Korra reached out, grabbed Asami’s hand, and squeezed once. She said, “Great to meet you, you know where to send my ticket, I’ll see you at the match, sorry for running like this!” She jumped onto Naga’s back, gave Asami a wave and a wink, and charged away with the officers in pursuit.

\-------

“Let’s run down the list, shall we?”

With her hands shackled to the table and her rear firmly parked on a cold, hard chair, running down a list was the last thing Korra really wanted to do.

“Substantial property damage, evading arrest, _assaulting my officers_...” The woman standing just behind her slammed a clipboard down next to her elbow and leaned close. “ _You_ , young lady, are in a whole mess of trouble.”

“You don’t understand!” Korra protested. “There was a man being threatened and--”

“ _Can it_ ,” the woman snapped. “I’ve heard it all a hundred times before. ‘Something bad was happening and I had to stop it.’ It’s not nearly a good enough reason to destroy an entire shop or the majority of a city street.”

“But I really couldn’t stand by and do nothing about it!” She thought of Asami’s glee and pressed on with a smile. “See, I’m the Avatar.”

The woman snorted and rolled her eyes, moving to sit in the chair opposite Korra. “Oh, please. I am well aware of your _Avatar_ title,” she said, waggling her fingers dismissively, “and it means exactly nothing to me. I am sick and tired of vigilante justice in my city, and I won’t accept it from anyone, even the Avatar.”

Korra frowned. “Fine, then. I want to talk to whoever’s in charge.”

The woman raised a brow. “That would be _me_. I’m Chief Beifong.”

“Wait, ‘Beifong’ as in ‘Lin Beifong’? Lin Beifong, daughter of _Toph_ Beifong?”

“Yes, what of it?”

“If you’re Toph’s daughter, then why are you acting like this? Your mother and Avatar Aang were friends!”

“That was in the past, and it hasn’t got a damn thing to with anything happening now,” Lin snapped. “I’ll say it again: Avatar or not, you can’t just run around the city doling out vigilante justice like you’re judge and jury!”

“That’s not what I was doing!”

“Then what _were_ you doing? Should I run through another list?” She took a deep breath and began to speak in a measured, precise tone. “Multiple counts of damaging private and public property, evading arrest, assaulting officers, violating due process of law, _abusing_ your Avatar title--”

“I’m not _abusing_ anything! All I’m doing is trying to keep balance in a city that’s out of balance!”

“You should have called the police and waited for them to arrive--”

“‘ _Waited_ ’? If I _waited_ , then that shopkeeper would’ve lost everything! How would that be right? Look, I’m sorry about the damage, but I did the right thing and you can’t tell me that I was wrong for helping that man!”

Lin opened her mouth to argue back, but a panel in the wall drew back to reveal the head officer that had led the chase. “Chief, Councilman Tenzin is here.”

Lin sighed heavily and stood up. “Send him in.”

Korra’s stomach lurched up with joy before falling hard with panic as the wall slid open to form a door. She had little experience in reading his face, but the hard line of Tenzin’s mouth spoke volumes about his anger. Wincing, she said, “Tenzin, listen--I’m really sorry--I got kinda sidetracked coming to see you.”

Taking in a deep breath, Tenzin forced a smile onto his face. “Lin, today finds you as radiant as every other day.”

“Cut the crap, Tenzin,” Lin replied. “Tell me why the Avatar is here and not in the South Pole--where I thought _you_ were supposed to be moving.”

He let the smile die. “My relocation has been delayed. However,” he said, an edge to his voice, “the Avatar will be going home and staying _put_.”

“She’ll be staying put right here thanks to all the damage she did to my city.”

“I am well aware of the trouble she’s in,” Tenzin said, “but if you agree to drop the charges, I will take full responsibility for today’s regrettable events and cover all the damages.”

Lin stared at him for a long while before letting out a rumbling sigh. “Fine.” She flicked her fingers to undo the metal catch to Korra’s handcuffs. “Now get her out of my city.”

Tenzin bowed slightly. “A pleasure as always, Lin. _Korra_.”

Shamefacedly, sheepishly, and with every ounce of regret she had ever felt weighing twice as heavy on her shoulders, Korra followed him. As she passed Lin, however, she received a challenging stare, Lin lifting the first and last fingers on her hands to her eyes before aiming them at Korra. Her pride was too great to let her shame keep her docile, and she returned the challenge with a hard sneer before stomping away. They were led to a room full of holding cells for animals and ordered to wait while Naga was retrieved, and the pushing down of her shame was strong enough for Korra to speak up immediately.

“Tenzin, you can’t send me back home,” she said, not a trace of pleading in her voice. “My destiny is here--as the Avatar, I need to be _here_. Even Katara thinks I should be here.”

The top half of Tenzin’s head turned brilliant scarlet. “ _Don’t bring my mother into this_.”

She lifted her hands to placate until the fury had gone from him. “Look, I know that you want me to be safe and to make sure the city stays safe, but I can’t wait for that. I need to finish my training and _be_ the Avatar, and staying all cooped up in that stupid compound isn’t going to help me be a better-- _anything_. I saw so much of the city today, and I totally get why you wanted me to stay down in the South Pole. I _get_ it, I get that it’s dangerous...I get that it’s completely out of whack. But as much as the city needs _you_ here, it needs _me_ , too.”

He tried to speak, but he had no words for her. He had no words for a long time, and they left in silence once Naga was returned to them. They remained in silence the entire journey to Air Temple Island, and Korra stood on the back of the small ferry staring back toward the city, watching as lights flickered on against the encroaching dusk. By the time they reached the island, its dock, and the White Lotus boat on the other side, she was in misery. The fact that two small gliders bearing three riders soared down from the island did not help.

“ _Korra_!” Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo cried in unison as they landed. The latter two mobbed her instantly; Jinora hesitated until Korra waved her closer.

“Are you gonna live with us on the island?” Ikki asked, face barely out of Korra’s stomach before she spoke.

Grimacing, she knelt down to look at the trio face-to-face. “I can’t live with you guys. This was just a visit...now I have to go home.”

Ikki pouted, Meelo wrapped himself soundly around one of her legs, and Jinora squeezed her hand hard. Despite that, she extracted herself from them and started away down the dock. She did not stop and did not look back--not until Tenzin spoke up.

“Wait,” he said. When she turned, he moved to stand with her. “I have tried my utmost to preserve the dream my father had for Republic City...but you are right. Things _have_ fallen out of balance since he passed. I wanted to wait to train you in order to maintain his legacy, but I was misguided about what that was.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “ _You_ are his legacy. Republic City needs its Avatar. You may stay here and train in airbending.”

Korra did the first and only two things that came to mind. First, she shouted, “Thank you! You’re the best!” And second, she gathered the three children in her arms before picking Tenzin up off his feet and giving them all a tight hug.


	2. Montei to Keisatsu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Montei to Keisatsu_ : Disciples and the Police.

Korra wasn’t sure how to feel about Asami being present for her first airbending lesson. On the one hand, Asami said she was very cute in airbender clothing, and the compliment had been enough to make her grin. On the other hand, Asami bore witness to how badly that lesson went: she saw every spinning gate that Korra smashed into and which subsequently threw her out of their radiuses and onto the ground around the circle. She was there when Tenzin noticed the bloody nose Korra had garnered from a particularly hard blow to the face and called for a break, and she was there when Korra tried to scurry away with a handkerchief Tenzin produced from his robes.

“Here, give me that,” she said, holding out her hand.

Not a little dumbfounded, Korra lifted the handkerchief to ask wordlessly. Asami nodded, taking the handkerchief when Korra handed it over. She returned to the gates’ circle, stopping two gates before beckoning Korra over. They sat on the edge of the circle, and Asami began to dab gently at the blood already dripping from Korra’s chin.

“Hey, I can do that just fine!” Korra protested, trying to push Asami’s hand away.

“Based on the way you went at those gates, I’m worried that you’d just stuff it up your nose and keep going.”

Sighing through her mouth, Korra said, “Don’t worry. I’m not about to try again for a while.” She looked at Asami from the corner of her eye, fighting down the urge to squirm when the dabbing finally reached her nose. “Why’re you doing this? Aren’t you grossed out at all?”

Asami shrugged. “I’ve been in self-defense classes since I was a little girl. Bruises and nosebleeds aren’t news to me.”

“Oh. Huh.” She nearly laughed through her nose, but managed to puff the air between her lips. “No offense, but I thought you were kinda prissy.”

She chuckled and held the handkerchief steady at Korra’s nose. “A lot of people think that. I look like daddy’s little girl, don’t I?”

With an up-and-down glance at her fine clothing, emblazoned here and there with gears, Korra replied, “The little girl of a rich daddy, yeah.”

More laughter, light and cheery, flowed from her mouth; it made Korra smile every time she heard it. “That’s what you are when you’re Hiroshi Sato’s daughter, yeah.”

“Hiroshi Sato? Like, the guy who created the satomobile?”

“The one and only.”

She didn’t bother feeling embarrassed at the way her mouth fell open. “You’re--he’s your--” Her words failed entirely for a moment. She swallowed and said, “Yeah, that’d make you the little girl of a rich daddy.”

Asami smiled at her before taking the handkerchief away. A moment later, she murmured, “Okay, it looks like it’s slowing down,” and returned the handkerchief to its prior place. “Weren’t you supposed to ‘be like the leaf’?

Korra shrugged, as unsure as she was ineloquent. “I guess so, yeah, but I’m not--I mean, I’ve never actually made a spiritual connection with... _anything_.” She sighed. “It doesn’t come very easy to me.”

“Well, the only thing for it is to keep trying.” With her free hand, she gave a very gentle tap to the end of Korra’s nose. “Though maybe not as hard as you did today.”

For her part, Korra had no idea how to respond. She meant to, certainly, but any and all attempts fell flat on her tongue when she looked up and saw Lin Beifong striding up the stairs. Before she had a chance to wince, Lin turned sharply at the top of the stairs. She went directly to Tenzin, throwing Korra a hard glance before speaking.

“I want to know what you’re up to,” she snapped.

Tenzin lifted a brow, blinking once. “‘Up to’? All that I’m doing is training the Avatar.”

“And passing laws that allow her to pursue vigilante justice,” Lin said.

Asami went stone still, and so it was an easy task for Korra to push her hand away and stand up.

Tenzin sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I had nothing to do with that, Lin, and you know I never would. The Avatar needs to practice restraint and--”

“Then who put the motion to the council?” She paused before frowning. “Actually, let me guess. Tarrlok.”

He nodded.

“And you did nothing to stop him,” she said. “Excellent. I expected nothing less of you.”

Tenzin bristled, his back going ramrod straight. “That’s not the case at all! I was strongly against it, but you _know_ how Tarrlok is with the other members of the council.”

The sigh that left Lin then was brief, but as heavy as Tenzin’s before it. She looked to Korra, sidling slowly up to them, and her frown was enough to make her freeze in place. “Don’t expect anything to change, Avatar. If you even get the _urge_ to go running through my streets acting like judge and jury, I _will_ bring you in and throw you in jail. Do you understand me?”

She brought up her hands in surrender, but with a frown on her face. “One hundred percent, ma’am.”

“Good. Because I don’t make idle promises.” She turned on heel and started away.

“Wait!” Tenzin said. When she halted and glanced over her shoulder at him, he asked, “Is that all you came to say?”

“What else would I be coming here to say?” she asked in turn, and vanished down the stairs once again.

Tenzin groaned his next sigh, massaging his forehead. After a moment, he shook his head and started to follow Lin. “Korra, you stay here and keep practicing.”

She reached out and caught his sleeve. “Hey, wait a minute--tell me what’s going on! What was Chief Beifong talking about? Is there some sort of law about me?”

He frowned, but his eyes were aimed toward the city. “There is, thanks to another councilman.”

“Who?”

“His name is Tarrlok, but that’s not important,” he said, his words clipped. “What’s important is your training and focusing on completing it. Going into the city and having the spotlight on you is not the way to do that, and I would think that Tarrlok would _know_ that.” He grumbled noise and stroked his beard. “I’m sure this is another one of his ploys, but I don’t know what end he’s trying to reach.” He took his hand from his face, waving it dismissively. “I want you to stay on the island until this is cleared up.”

“But--how long is that going to take?” Korra asked.

“We have our next council meeting tomorrow morning.”

Her jaw went slack, but the shock that loosened it was quickly replaced by hardening anger. “What? _No_ , I have a ticket to a pro-bending match tonight! I can’t just give up on that! Asami paid a lot of money for it!”

“Korra, I know that you’re excited, but as I told you before, you need a calm and quiet environment for your training. Going to see a match defeats the purpose of being calm and quiet.” He turned to Asami, still sitting, and bowed. “I apologize, but I can’t allow Korra to leave the island for the time being.” Raising his brow at Korra, he said, “Now stay here. I’ll be back once I speak with the other council members.” He departed without another word, and Korra stared after him before slumping back down next to Asami.

“I can’t believe this,” she grumbled. “He knows how much I want to see a pro-bending match! Why shouldn’t I be allowed to go?”

“He’s probably just worried about you,” Asami said, reaching over to turn Korra’s face toward her. “Fathers get that way.”

Korra let her examine her face, but the statement had to be spoken against. “He’s not my dad.”

Asami gave her a look. “I know that. I’m saying he’s _a dad_. He’s got three kids and another on the way. I’m sure he just automatically thinks of you as another one of his kids.”

“Well...that’s wrong. I’ve got a dad, down in the South Pole.” Because Asami had not started dabbing at her face again, she pushed her hand away and sighed. “I don’t need another one.”

“It’s not a bad thing, you know,” Asami said, “having a dad with you. My dad’s all I’ve got, and it’s really nice to have a parent when things are so hard right now.”

“Maybe if people actually _told_ me what was so hard about things nowadays, I wouldn’t be so annoyed.”

Asami poked her square between the eyebrows. “Maybe if you asked nicely, people would tell you.”

Smiling in spite of herself, rubbing her brow, Korra said, “Okay, fair enough. Can you tell me why it is that everyone thinks I’m going to go out doing dangerous things?”

“Aside from the whole running-face-first-into-gates style you have?”

Korra poked her in return.

Asami laughed and caught Korra’s hand in hers. “You already know about the bending triads, but you don’t know about the Equalists.”

“The guys from the park? I know about them.”

“Not about their leader, Amon.” She drummed her fingers in Korra’s palm, a slow and broken tempo.

“Um...what’re you doing?”

“Hmm?”

She flexed her hand, pushing up against Asami’s fingers.

“Oh, that! I do it when I think.”

“You need other peoples’ hands around when you think?”

She giggled and shook her head. “No, I usually do it to myself. Your hand was just there. Do you want me to stop?”

“It’s okay, it just tickles a little.” She settled, watching Asami’s fingers tap her hand. “So who’s this Amon guy? I think I heard that protester say his name.”

“He’s the leader of the Equalists,” Asami explained. “The best word I’ve heard someone use for him was ‘fanatic,’ and it’s true. He hates benders more than anyone else in the world. He and his followers are getting louder and more violent lately, and I’m sure that they’re not happy that the Avatar is in Republic City. Tenzin is just worried for you.”

“Yeah, but come on!” Korra said. “It’s just a pro-bending match! What’s the problem with taking a short little ferry ride over to the arena? It’s not even that far away from here!”

Asami stopped drumming her fingers, instead pressing her fingertips gently into the line that stretched the width of Korra’s hand. “I don’t know...I understand where he’s coming from. The Equalists are pretty scary. _I_ wouldn’t want you getting caught by them.”

“Then all the more reason for me to go out into the city and learn how to stay safe! And where better to start than at the pro-bending arena tonight?”

Asami stared at her a long while before laughing. “All right, fine. I’m not going to win against you when you get like this, am I.”

Grinning, Korra said, “Not a chance.”

She laughed again, stood up, and helped Korra to her feet. “Here’s what we’ll do. Memorize the seat on your ticket, and we’ll find each other inside once you get there.”

She grinned broader than before. “Asami, you’ve got a deal.”

\-------

There was a righteously angry man in front of her and a water-ruined ticket in her pocket. Korra was at a loss.

“You damn kids are always sneaking in here, trying to watch the matches without paying!” he shouted. “Not giving us benders our hard-earned wages, you little brat! How would _you_ like it if I snuck into whatever job you’ve got and just _stole_ your money?”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do!” Korra shot back. “I _have_ a ticket, it just--got wet.”

The man crossed his massive forearms and scowled at her. “Uh huh. I’m getting security and they’re--”

“Oh, hey, there you are!”

They both turned to see a teenage boy wearing a red and white colored pro-bender uniform walking toward them. He held his helmet under one arm and grinned as he approached, a lock of his dark hair hanging carefully over his brow and his green eyes all but glimmering. When he was near, he lifted a hand and turned toward the man.

“It’s okay, Toza,” he said. “She’s with me.”

Toza lifted his brow, scowl still in place.

“I’m the one who gave her the ticket!” the boy continued. “I told her she could come back here and see me.”

For another long moment, Toza continued to scowl at him. Eventually, he slapped at the air and turned away. “Do whatever you want. I’m busy.”

Grinning even more than before, the boy leaned over to take Korra by the elbow and led her back into the hallway. Only when they were some distance away did the boy let go of her elbow and speak again, and it was to say, “My name’s Bolin, by the way.”

“Thanks for that,” Korra said.

Bolin waved his hand gently in the air, but his expression turned curious. “Did you really sneak in?”

“Sort of,” she replied with a shrug. “I _have_ a ticket, it just got soaked when I swam here.”

He stared a moment before coming to a halt. “You... _swam_ here?”

“It was the only way to get here if I was sneaking off of Air Temple Island to sit with my friend.”

“Air Temple Island...” He gave her an up-and-down look. “But aren’t you a Water Tribe gal?”

She smirked. “I am, but I’m in training over there.”

“ _Wow_! A Water Tribe airbender! That’s really cool! Can you do any awesome airbending moves?”

She faltered, but only for a moment. “No, but I’ve got some great firebending moves under my belt.”

Bolin came to a halt, looking at her with his hand on his chin. He nodded three times, humming assent, before saying, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She laughed, but kindly. “I’m the Avatar.”

His confusion lasted a few moments more before his jaw dropped. He took his hand from his face and pointed at her. “ _The_ Avatar?”

“The one and only.”

Far more quickly than the confusion had gone, his shock vanished and was replaced with glee. “Oh, man, for real? That is so amazing! You need to meet my brother!” He paused in thought before starting to pace in place, lifting one foot after the other. “Look, we’re gonna have our match soon, so I should go, but--where are you and your friend sitting?”

“The first couple of seats on the main floor.”

He stopped abruptly, one leg still in the air. “Seriously? Those are some snazzy seats.” He waved both hands then, shaking his head as well. “No, anyway--look, you and your friend should come down to the challengers’ room once the match is done. Just ask for the Fire Ferrets, okay? And wish us luck!”

She gave him a gentle punch to the shoulder and said, “Knock ‘em dead.”

Bolin popped his helmet on and blew her a kiss through it. He jogged down the hallway to the sound of her hearty laughter, and she departed soon after he was gone. As he had guided her to more common hallways, it took less than a minute to find the seat that had been marked on her ticket, and why Bolin had called it “snazzy.” A man in a waistcoat and slacks stood vigil outside a door marked with numbers, and he looked askance at her as she came near.

“I have a ticket to sit in there,” she said.

“Let’s see it.”

She reached into her pocket, knowing very well what she would be pulling out. She did it anyway and offered up the soggy wad of paper that had once been her ticket. The man sneered, his lips pulling back slowly.

“Look, just go inside and ask Asami, she knows who I am.”

The man sighed heavily, rolling his eyes as he turned and went inside. He had barely spoken before he was forced to step aside. Asami pushed past him, smiling only when she spotted Korra.

“There you are!” she said. “I was worried that you’d gotten lost.”

“Not for a lack of trying,” Korra admitted. “It didn’t start yet, did it?”

Asami put her arm around Korra’s shoulder and led her inside. “They haven’t even announced the teams yet.”

“But one of the teams is the Fire Ferrets, right?” At Asami’s questioning look, she said, “I met one of them sneaking in here. He said we can go down to the challengers’ room after the match.”

“ _The_ Fire Ferrets?” Asami asked, brows rising. Her smile grew even broader. “I knew it was the right thing to bring you on a date here.”

Korra blinked. “Are we on a date?”

Asami opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by an ear-splitting explosion. They were thrown off their feet by the shockwave moments before shrapnel, flaming and not, buried itself in the room’s far wall. A brief moment of silence passed before the sound of screams began to rise in a chorus around the arena. They got to their feet slowly, but hurried to the window that looked outward. The ring was in ruins, smoldering and smoking; shards of the flooring and metalwork were beginning to sink in the water below. Beneath the ring and through the smoke, though, Korra spotted movement.

“There’s somebody down there,” she said, squinting and leaning forward.

Asami followed suit, but her head jerked back in surprise when she saw the black masks and green goggles. “Those are chi blockers!”

“Chi blockers?”

“They’re Equalists--Amon’s henchmen.” She put her hand over her mouth and spoke quietly. “I can’t believe they did this.”

Korra stepped up onto the window ledge. “They’re not going to get away with it if I can help it.”

Once again, Asami followed suit, stepping up onto the window. “And me.”

“ _What_? No way, you’re--”

“I’m going with you. I can help you fight, and I really don’t feel like letting you run face-first into danger without help.” She reached out and took Korra’s hand, tugging once. “Let’s go.”

Korra stared at her for a moment before smiling. “Deal. Hold your breath.” She led them into a leaping dive, calling the water up to catch them. They sank only for a moment before Korra let go of Asami’s hand and twisted about. The water spiraled around them and launched them up onto the platform beneath the ring. There were three chi blockers, one man and two women, heading toward the edge of the platform, but they stopped short when Korra and Asami landed nearby.

“I hope you don’t think you can get away,” Korra said, lifting her hands.

The chi blockers said nothing, instead bursting into movement. They leaped forward, dodging the fire blasts Korra aimed at them. One of the women dashed to the nearest pillar, leaping up onto it and spinning away from the water Korra flung at her. She landed near Asami, striking with her fingers extended. Asami avoided the attacks by redirecting the woman’s hands, catching them on her wrists and twisting their arms about. A kick was next, the woman spinning on her heel to swing her foot toward Asami’s face. Asami responded in kind, timing her own spin to lock their knees together and tug the woman off balance. Though Asami meant to slam her heel against the woman’s chin with another kick, the woman was quick enough to roll away and spring back to her feet.

Korra would have thrown another fire blast at the woman to help Asami, but her attention was thoroughly focused on the two other chi blockers. She had picked out their roles immediately. The man, tall and brutally strong, came at her from the front while the woman, swift and flexible, struck from behind. The man was a distraction: when Korra kicked at him, fireball bursting from her heel, the woman took the opportunity of one of her outstretched arms. Her fingers jabbed up the length of Korra’s arm, stopping at her shoulder. All sensation died in her arm, and Korra spun about to stare at the woman in horror. The woman tilted her head to one side and leisurely pointed behind Korra. Horror growing even more, Korra whipped back around to see the man rushing at her.

A fire blast slammed into him from the left, knocking him off his feet hard enough that he slid to the edge of the platform. The man, the two women, Asami, and Korra all turned to look at the source of the blast: a young man in a sopping wet white and red pro-bender uniform. He advanced on them, a grit-toothed scowl on his face.

“Oh good,” he snarled. “You didn’t get to run away. That means I get to beat the hell out of you for hurting my little brother.” He looked at Korra and Asami. “One for each of us.”

“I can live with that,” Korra replied, and she bolted for the woman behind her. The surprise gave her enough time to lash out with a kick bearing a massive sphere of water. The woman did not leap away fast enough, and was slammed against a pillar. Korra turned the water to ice, binding the woman where she was.

The chi blocker had barely gotten to his feet before the pro-bender was on him with fireball after fireball. Each punch the man made let loose wild crackling flames, scorching the platform beneath the chi blocker’s feet. Every time the chi blocker tried to advance, the man knocked him back with blasts to his chest; he spent precious seconds slapping out the embers that caught on his clothes. With a shout of anger, the pro-bender sprang up, striking the air with his knee and launching the largest fireball yet. It struck the chi blocker hard, knocking him off his feet once again. When he landed, his head cracked against the ground so hard he lay stunned. Korra caught him in a rush of water, forcing him to join his compatriot in the ice.

Asami now faced a woman full of hesitation, a woman who glanced nervously at Korra and the pro-bender standing by. She smiled at her anxiety and moved in. The woman met her advance with a punch aimed for Asami’s jaw. Asami knocked in up and away, answering in turn with a hard strike to the woman’s ribs with the heel of her hand. When the woman doubled over in pain, Asami bent her arm and smashed her elbow against the side of the woman’s face. The woman stumbled to one side, moving directly into the kick Asami slammed into her stomach. She stumbled again, back this time, and Asami followed her. She pried the woman’s arm away from her stomach, gripping her wrist in one hand and bracing her other hand against her shoulder. A grunt left Asami as she spun the woman about and threw her off her feet. As she was in the air, she was caught in a final sphere of water from Korra and joined the two other chi blockers frozen against the pillar.

Korra jumped when the pro-bender took hold of her shoulder. She looked at him to find that the anger had left his face for anxiety.

“You’re a waterbender,” he said. “Can you heal?”

She looked him up and down, blinking when she found no blood on his clothes. “Where are you hurt?”

“It’s not me,” he replied. “It’s my brother, Bolin.”

“Bolin? He got hurt?”

The man stared. “How do you know my brother?”

“We met in the hall,” Korra said. “Yeah, I’m a healer, where is he?”

“The challengers’ room,” the man said. “Come on, he’s bleeding pretty bad.”

Korra nodded once. “Okay, in the water, I can get us up there fast.”

The man sagged with relief. “Thank you.” He and Asami followed Korra to the edge of the platform, jumping into the water after her. Sinking beneath them, she twisted her body and called the water up around them. They were lifted up and brought over to the open challengers’ room, and the man dashed away the instant his feet were on the floor. He went to Bolin, sitting propped up against the righthand wall. Blood was soaking into his uniform at his right shoulder, and sweat was beading heavily on his brow. He opened his eyes when the man kneeled down before him and gripped his unwounded shoulder.

“Hey, Mako,” he said with a small smile. “You still okay?”

“I’m better than okay,” Mako replied. “I found you a healer.”

Bolin looked up; his smile grew stronger at the sight of Korra. “I get to be healed by the Avatar? I am one lucky dude.”

Mako spun about to look at Korra as though seeing her for the first time. “You’re the Avatar?”

“The one and only,” Korra said, smirking. “Now let me help your brother.”

Mako nodded vaguely and moved aside. He came back as Korra stepped in, bucket of water in hand. Though Korra reached out with both hands, one hand was unable to bend the water. She grimaced, struggling, but was forced to work with only one hand. Filling the water with energy, she gestured for Bolin to pull away his uniform. He did, wincing all the while, and let out a heavy sigh when the water touched him.

“Oh man,” he groaned. “Thank you so much.” He laughed slightly. “I am really glad you snuck in.”

“I can’t believe the Equalists set off such a huge bomb in here,” Mako said. “Are they completely crazy?”

“What’s crazy is the whole chi blocking thing,” Korra said. “I didn’t know you could block a person’s bending.”

“They’re scum,” Mako said, voice hard and sharp. “They’ve hurt innocent people--they probably _killed_ some people out there in the crowd.”

“If they’re hurt and they’re still alive,” Korra murmured, “then I’m going to do everything I can to make sure they _stay_ alive.” She turned to look at Mako and Asami. “But I’m gonna need help.”

“I’m in,” said Mako.

“Same here,” Asami replied.

“Get me back on my feet, and I’m right there with you,” Bolin said.

“Then let’s get to work.”

\-------

“There’s seven dead, and at least twenty wounded. It was a much higher number for the wounded, but a lot of them got medical attention before we arrived. Other healers are taking over for her now.”

“‘ _Her_ ’? Who is--” Lin put a hand to her forehead and groaned. “Saikhan, please tell me it’s not who I think it is.”

“Well,” Saikhan said slowly, “it wasn’t _only_ the Avatar.”

“Excellent,” Lin sighed. “Where are they?”

Saikhan pointed down to the ruins of the ring. “Lowest level. They’re with a few of our officers keeping watching over the perpetrators.”

Lin moved to the edge of the floor. “So not only did she run around acting as an unlicensed healer, she went vigilante again.” Firing the metal wires from the gauntlet on her wrist, she stepped off the edge and swung down below. Her heavy landing made the platform’s occupants look up. The officers snapped off a salute at her approach, but the four teens on the floor barely had the energy to look up. Korra was slowest of all, and she went even paler when she saw Lin.

“I understand you’re responsible for this,” Lin said, nodding toward the wire-trussed chi blockers.

“Um,” Korra mumbled, blinking slowly, “aside from the wires, yeah.”

“And a great deal of the healing, that was you as well?”

“It totally was!” Bolin said, raising his hand. “She healed me up, too! She’s great!”

Lin hummed flatly. “And you three helped?”

“We couldn’t just let them escape,” said Mako, his scowl returning.

Lin nodded once. “You did a good job.”

Korra’s weariness was cast aside for complete shock, and she stared openly at Lin. “Excuse me?”

“I’m not above giving credit where it’s properly due,” she said. “You four caught a pack of terrorists responsible for enormous property damage and the murder of seven people, and you took care of the wounded on top of that. You deserve praise.”

“You’re...not mad at me?” Korra asked. “I thought you were going to be mad at me.”

Lin smirked. “I think you’re going to get enough anger from Tenzin when he finds out where you’ve been.”

Korra was unable to go any paler than she already was, and so she swallowed around the lump in her throat. Her voice cracked a little when she said, “Yeah.”

“The media’s going to have a field day with this, you know,” Lin said.

Her voice cracked again as she repeated, “Yeah.”

“It’ll send the right message to the Equalists. The police _and_ the Avatar won’t stand for violence like this.” She paused and frowned. “Even if the Avatar is a vigilante.”

Some of the color returned to Korra’s face. She looked from Lin to the officers and back again, eyes moving slowly. When she returned her gaze to Lin, it was clear and bright. “What if I wasn’t a vigilante?”

“Excuse me?”

Korra smiled slyly. “It’s not vigilante justice if I’m part of the police force, right, Chief?”

Lin lifted a brow. “Are you asking to join my metalbender officers?”

“I am if someone can teach me to metalbend.”

“This is a rash decision,” Lin said in reply. “You’re going to sign up for a police force that requires the use of a form of bending you haven’t had a single lesson in--while at the same time being in training for an entirely separate element. On top of that, you’ve walked into one of the most dangerous conflicts the city has ever seen.” She sighed through her nose. “I think you should reconsider.”

Korra pushed herself to her feet. “Look, now I’ve got a reason to fight the Equalists.” She gestured to Mako and Bolin, saying, “They really hurt my friends. And I don’t feel like getting on your bad side all the time with this whole ‘vigilante’ thing. This is my city just as much as yours, and I’m the Avatar. I need to help people.” She hesitated, but summoned her courage and pointed at Lin. “So maybe _you’re_ the one who needs to reconsider.”

“ _Korra_!”

Her courage died and her pallor returned. “Oh no.” She turned around in time to see Tenzin swooping in on his glider. Though her first instinct was to take a step back when he landed in front of her, she swallowed and held her ground.

“Tell me, what was it that I told you this morning?” he asked. “Was it ‘go to the pro-bending match tonight’? Because I could have sworn that it was _the exact opposite of that_! I _told_ you to stay on the island! You were to stay on the island and you were to stay _safe_!” He waved his hands to gesture at the chi blockers and the damage above their heads. “ _This_ isn’t safe! This is lunacy!”

“You can’t keep me locked up on the island forever!” Korra shouted back. “Why do you think I ran away from the White Lotus compound? I’m the _Avatar_ , dammit! I’m not supposed to stay hidden away and ‘safe!’ I’m supposed to bring balance to the world and _I can’t do that_ when people tell me to stay put!”

Tenzin reached out and took hold of Korra’s shoulders, shaking her once. “You had the entire family worried _sick_ tonight! No one knew where you were--and then the police called to say you were _here_? Do you understand how hard it was to tell my children that you were here when the White Lotus sentries had already told us about the bombing from the radio reports?”

She faltered. “I--I didn’t--”

“You didn’t _think_! You never think!”

Korra bristled. “I _have_ been thinking! I’m sorry I worried you, but that’s something you’re going to have to get used to! I’m not going to sit by anymore when people need me to stand up and fight!”

“Being the Avatar isn’t all about fighting!”

“I _know_ that! But right now, the world needs an Avatar who doesn’t hide!”

It was Tenzin who hesitated then, words dying in his throat before he even had a chance to open his mouth. When he did, the most he could do was gape at her.

“She makes a good point,” said Lin.

His baffled stare swung in a short, swift arc to her.

“You and I both agree that Tarrlok’s little motion is the wrong path for the Avatar to take,” she said. “But I think she makes a good argument that the way we’ve been going at things isn’t the right path, either.”

Korra joined Tenzin in staring confusedly. “Weren’t you _just_ telling me to reconsider wanting to join the police?”

“‘ _Join the police_ ’?” Tenzin repeated, his head turning crimson. “Absolutely not! You don’t know the first thing about metalbending, and for another thing--”

“I’ll teach her,” Lin said.

The bluster left him so quickly Tenzin sagged in the shoulders. “You’ll what?”

“You _will_?” Korra asked, a grin coming to her face.

“On two conditions,” Lin replied. “The first is that you don’t slack off on your other training just to run rampant through the streets as an officer.”

“Deal,” said Korra. “What’s the second?”

“That Tenzin agrees.”

Tenzin’s brows rose slowly. He did not know whether or not to smile, and so he kept his mouth still and silent.

“She was your disciple first,” Lin said to him. “Furthermore, I have zero intentions of taking her entirely off of your hands--she’s still _your_ responsibility.”

“You really think this is the right path?” he asked.

“I think we need all the help we can get,” she replied.

He turned to Korra. She met his gaze evenly, without the eager impatience he had expected. It had been taken out of her eyes, and the lack of it gave him pause. He asked, “Do _you_ really think this is the right path to take as the Avatar?”

In a firm voice, she said, “It _is_ the right path, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you understand that.”

Because he was helpless, he smiled. “Then I suppose we’ll have to schedule your airbending training alongside your police training.”

Bolin quickly raised his hand. “Can I join, too?”

Mako started at the request, turning to stare at him. “Bro, _no_.”

“Oh, come on! We’re gonna be out of work until the arena gets fixed, and I’m pretty sure I can metalbend if someone would teach me!” He got to his feet and turned to Lin. Bowing deeply, he said, “Please accept me as another student, ma’am. I’m a hard worker and a fast learner.”

She quirked a brow at him. “I wasn’t aware that my offer to train the Avatar was open to people _other_ than her.”

He swung upright, holding up his hands. “No, no--I know it technically isn’t! But can’t you find it in your metal-encased heart to teach a dirt-poor earthbender an honest living?” He paused to think. “Not to mention the fact that the Equalists hurt me pretty bad and I want to get them back for it.” He thought further. “Oh! Oh! And I would really like to make sure my friend doesn’t get hurt in the line of duty!” He smiled toothily, all bright charm. “Is that a good enough case to get trained?”

Her brow remained quirked, but there was no frown on her face. “If you slow anyone down, you’re out.”

“Well, you better prepare yourself,” said Bolin, reaching out to wrap his arm around Korra’s shoulders, “because you’re about to train two of the fastest learners in the history of the city!” Leaning his head close to Korra’s, he whispered, “You’re really fast, right?”

“If it’s not airbending,” she whispered back.

“That’s cool for now.” He came away enough to slap her on the back before offering up his hand. “Police partners?”

She smiled, took his hand, and shook. “Police partners.”

Before they could let go of each other, Mako stood up and laid his hand on top of theirs. He said to Korra, “I’m going to count on you to watch out for my little brother.”

Asami came next, setting her hand highest and looking at Bolin. “And I’m going to count on you to look out for Korra for me.”

He flushed bright red. “Uh--yes’m, I can do that.”

Korra, in all her exhaustion and elation, could do little more than laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we see considerably larger changes.


	3. Kyougi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Kyougi_ : counsel.

The first words out of Bolin’s mouth were “So when do we get snazzy metal uniforms?”

They stood in the training hall of the police station, stone beneath their bare feet and metal all around them. Korra and Bolin stood by two dummies wearing crude metal armor, small sheets of steel leaning up on each. Lin paced in front of them, arms crossed behind her back. At Bolin’s question, though, she stopped pacing and slowly lifted a brow.

“When you can metalbend them onto yourself,” she replied

He put his hand to his chin and nodded sagely. “Cool...cool. And when will that be?”

“You’re the one who said you were a fast learner,” she replied. “You tell me.”

“Maybe what he meant to ask,” said Korra, “is where do we start?”

Lin looked at them, brow still raised. Eventually, she sighed through her nose. “Tell me about earthbending.”

“I’m an earthbender!” Bolin said, raising his hand. “Earthbending is all about being like a rock!” He paused, hand coming down. “But I’m more used to pro-style earthbending.”

“Earth is the element of substance,” Korra said, voice toned for recitation. “To earthbend, you have to be as stubborn as stone, rooted to the earth, and strike head-on.”

“Good answer,” said Lin. “Metalbending is just an extension of that. Instead of being as stubborn as stone, you have to be as stubborn as metal. To bend metal, you have to find the stone imperfections left over from the forging.”

“Well...how’re we supposed to do that?” Bolin asked. “It’s not like we can _see_ the rocks in the metal.”

“Once you can see through the earth, you can.”

He laughed heartily. “That’s impossible!”

Korra, not bothering with the politeness of looking him from the corner of her eyes, stared. “You know that’s how her _mom_ saw, right? Toph Beifong?”

Bolin cut his laughter short, the sound petering away as he looked at Lin. He went pale at the impassiveness of her face; he fumbled for anything to say. Fidgeting, he shrugged weakly. “I didn’t mean to disrespect your mother, ma’am.”

With a brief, flat hum, Lin said, “She probably would’ve punched you for that remark. She was never one for listening to people telling her what she did was impossible.”

He cleared his throat and swallowed awkwardly. “So...how do we see through the earth?”

“ _Seeing_ through the earth is the same as _sensing_ through the earth,” Lin said. “To sense anything, you have to be more rooted to the earth than you have been before in your life.” She lifted her arms, elbows close to her sides and palms up. Her eyes closed. “As rooted as the giant badger-moles of the mountains, as the ones who taught my mother how to see better than most people.”

“So--are we just stepping harder than we usually do?” Bolin asked, voice anxious.

“ _You_ will, certainly,” Lin replied. She twisted her heel against the ground in two quick bursts. The first motion made a burst of stone rise up beneath Bolin’s feet. The second anticipated his skittish leap backward and sent up a wide, flat pillar to strike him on the rear. He yelped at the blow, rubbing his backside and pouting greatly.

“Your pro-bending style won’t be any help to you here,” she continued. “The Avatar said it earlier--earth is the element of substance. Being a twinkle-toed dancer isn’t going to get you the power you need to force your will upon metal.” She opened her eyes and sighed yet again. "I fear I'll have to start teaching you from the beginning."

Bolin gaped in shock a moment before closing his mouth and setting his jaw. Straightening as though a metal rod had suddenly replaced his spine, he said, "No, ma'am, you won't have to do it that at all! Just tell me how to not be a twinkle-toed dancer and I'll do it!"

Lin stared at him briefly, then smiled slightly. "I like your attitude. Now sit."

He hesitated. "Am I getting a time-out?"

Korra sputtered with laughter, but went quiet at the stern look Lin sent her way.

"No," said Lin. "Both of you sit. I want you to use your hands for this exercise." When they had done as they were told, she continued. "Badger-moles use both their hands and feet to sense vibrations in the earth, as well as the vibrations that bounce back. Those echoes tell them the location of things, as well as their shape and size. We learned earthbending from the badger-moles by understanding that they used their close connection with the energy of the earth to manipulate it."

"Then what does sitting do for us?" Korra asked.

"It puts your hands closer to the ground." She gestured with a flick of her finger. "Get your hands in there. Surround them in stone."

Glancing at each other, Korra and Bolin thrust their hands down through the surface of the floor. Encased to the wrist, they craned their heads back to watch Lin stride forward.

"Did you feel that?" she asked.

"No," they chorused.

"This is today's lesson," Lin said. "You sit like that until you can feel me walking around the room--through your hands."

Korra grinned. "Let's do this."

\-------

It was four hours later that they emerged from the training hall and the station entirely, hands worn to bloodiness at the wrists and stomachs aching with hunger. Though Korra felt like doing little more than finding a spare cup of water to heal herself, Bolin chattered away like an excited child.

"That was so cool when she actually ran a little _and I felt it in my hands_! Korra, I could totally feel it in my hands, I could feel the chief running around the room, and I would've felt it even if I wasn't looking at her right then!" He reached out and took hold of her shoulders. "Meeting you is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me! Let me buy you lunch!"

The offer was so abrupt that Korra could do little more than stare at him for a few moments. He gave himself a once-over glance when she did not respond, pulling his hands away from her and wincing.

"Sorry, blood," he said. "We should try and find some water so you can heal us."

"That's what I'm good for," she muttered.

He took in her words just long enough to form an opinion, and he hit her on the shoulder. It was not a painful blow, but it made her bristle. He smiled when he saw the expression on her face.

"Come on, are you mad because we didn't actually do any metalbending today?" he asked. "You know what the chief said--it's up to us to figure out when we actually bend stuff."

Korra had nothing to say to him in reply. She fumbled with her silence before being rescued by a sharp whistle. Both she and Bolin turned to find Asami next to them, sitting in a parked satomobile. She chuckled at their shock before popping the door and getting out.

"What're you two talking about so seriously?" she asked. "I thought you were going to walk right past me."

Bolin waved at her. "Hey, Miss Sato! What brings you to our neck of the woods today?" He wagged his finger at her. "You're not here because you're in trouble, are you?"

She laughed and shook her head before reaching back into the car. "You can call me 'Asami.' I'm here because it's your first day on the job." She came back out with a trio of boxes, wrapped neatly in large handkerchiefs. "I brought you both lunch. Better for you than eating out all the time."

His face lit up; he looked back to Korra with a greater grin than before. "You really are a great person to know! I didn't think your girlfriend would bring an extra lunch!"

Korra's face burned. She sputtered, "My--my _girlfriend_?"

Bolin blinked. He pointed at them both, hand swaying back and forth between them. "Aren't...you?"

As Korra blushed a darker shade of red, Asami laughed. With a sly smile on her face, she moved to stand at Korra's side and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Korra's response was to turn completely crimson from neck to ears.

"Give us a few more dates and I think the answer will be 'yes,'" Asami replied.

Korra spun about to stare at her, wide-eyed and lips parted. Very quietly, she said, "Oh." After a moment, she smiled nervously. "Um...okay."

Bolin watched them with raised brows before chuckling. "Okay, wow, you two are cute." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "All right, adorable soon-to-be-girlfriends, let's have lunch! How does lunch in the park sound? There's one about five minutes from here."

"It sounds excellent, good sir," Asami said with a slight bow. She offered him one of the boxes, wrapped in a green handkerchief. "And your lunch." He took it with a grin; she offered the box wrapped in a blue handkerchief to Korra. "Here's yours."

Still blushing painfully, Korra took the box. "Thanks."

"Onward, ladies!" Bolin said, pointing in the direction of a cluster of trees. He started off in an exaggerated march, lunchbox tucked carefully under his arm. Asami and Korra did not follow immediately, instead looking at each other. Asami offered her free hand, and Korra took it slowly. They started to follow after Bolin.

"You've never dated anyone before," Asami said simply.

"There wasn't a whole lot of time for that when I was training in the South Pole for...um, most of my life," Korra replied. "You really want to be my girlfriend?"

"Of course," Asami said, smiling brightly. "You're sweet, brave, strong, and funny. You're also very pretty, by the way."

"Okay, that's sort of amazing to hear from a gorgeous woman."

She laughed. The sound made Korra's chest tighten pleasantly a moment and she smiled in a manner she would have called stupid had she been able to see it on herself. Asami said, "See? You really are sweet."

Korra's brows rose. "Doesn't anyone ever tell you that you're pretty?"

"They do, but it's different coming from you."

"Why?"

"Because it's you. I like you, so it's special to me when you tell me I'm pretty."

"Oh." She grinned. "Then I'll make sure to tell you it a lot." She tightened her grip on Asami's hand. "Hey. I'm...I'm really glad you like me. It makes my day a lot better."

Concern took the smile from Asami's face. "What's wrong?"

After a pause, Korra shrugged weakly. "It's nothing."

Holding back a sigh, she lifted their hands and kissed the back of Korra's. "Here's a lesson about dating someone: you can tell her why you're not having a good day. Come on, what's the matter?"

It was only when they had nearly caught up to Bolin at the park that Korra spoke again, and it was to mumble, "I couldn't do as well as Bolin in our lesson."

"In metalbending?"

"We have to learn how to see through the earth--and I couldn't do it."

"I think this is where I tell you to be patient." She let go of Korra's hand to tap the end of her nose. "I don't want you to get another bloody nose if I'm not there to take care of you." When Korra did not meet her gaze, she kissed her on the cheek again. "Give yourself a break. It's your first day."

Korra nodded, but there was no smile on her face. The emptiness on her face changed to alertness when she heard Bolin give a massive shout of joy. She and Asami looked up to see him haul a man bodily out of the bushes to give him a hug, and the man return the embrace while laughing heartily. Korra's jaw dropped when she recognized the man enveloped in Bolin's arms.

" _Bingwen_?" she asked.

"Oh!" he said, squirming out of Bolin's arms. "How do you do today, Miss Korra? I see you know my friend Bolin!"

"Wait, wait, you and Korra know each other?" Bolin asked. He spread his arms wide, grinning just as massively. "It's a regular old party now!" He hurried over to Asami, putting a hand on her back and gesturing to the old man. "Asami, this is my good friend, Bingwen! We knew each other back when my brother and I were penniless street urchins. Bingwen, Asami Sato!"

"Look at us now," Bingwen chimed in with a laugh. "Rubbing elbows with the Avatar and the heiress to Future Industries. Truly, we have come a long way in life!"

Asami looked at each of the lunchboxes and considered Bingwen and his disheveled and patchy clothing. She smiled and said, "I made a lot for these lunches, so would you like to share them with us?"

Bingwen's stomach growled loudly enough that they could all hear it. Without an ounce of shame in his face or voice, he tipped his head in a bow and said, "I most certainly would, Miss Sato. And perhaps you can all tell me fascinating stories to spread around to the children?"

They had all begun to sit, but Korra stopped shy of placing her rear on the ground. "What kids?"

"The children of the streets, Miss Korra," replied Bingwen. "They need stories, just like any other child in the world."

"But they live _on_ the streets?" she asked.

Bolin had already opened his lunchbox and sat shoveling rice and meat into his mouth. He paused to say, "What did you think I meant when I said my brother and I were street urchins?"

"What about your parents?" she asked.

He paused in his shoveling. He chewed as politely as he could before swallowing everything in his mouth. It took a long moment for him to speak, and the smile on his face was tiny and weak. "We don't have parents anymore. I was six, and my brother was eight when...there was a firebender mugger and he...well, after that we were kids of the street, too."

"Oh," Korra murmured, even quieter than she had said before. She swallowed down the lump that had swelled in her throat and spoke louder to say, "I'm sorry."

Bolin managed to grin, though it had no strength to it. "Thanks. At least we're not working for the triads anymore."

At this, Asami, Korra, and Bingwen all went quiet and stared at him. Bingwen was the first to speak. "I thought you and Mako promised that you wouldn't take any of the work the triads offered you."

The smile finally left Bolin's face for a frown. "Look, I know it was stupid, but we didn't have a choice. And I'm not doing that anymore!" He fumbled as he thought, but soon held out the gold pin attached to his shirt as his smile properly returned. "See? I'm a policeman now!"

Bingwen chuckled. "All right, my boy, as long as you're not getting yourself into trouble." He paused in speaking as Asami offered him her lunchbox. "Thank you, my dear, but please, eat first."

She shook her head. "I'm not that hungry right now."

He would not argue against her, and so he tipped his head in another bow before taking the box. "Thank you, Miss Sato."

"Besides," she added, "I can just steal some of Korra's food."

Bingwen barked out a laugh, smiling broadly. "Oh, to be young and infatuated." Opening the box and retrieving the chopsticks inside, he said, "So tell me--what are you three young folks doing out in this part of town on a pleasant day like this?"

Bolin's mouth was once again full of food, but he did not have the grace at that moment to swallow before speaking up. "Me 'n' K'rra are b'th cops!"

"It's our first day learning how to metalbend," Korra cut in. "After the attack on the arena, I wanted to join the police force to fight the Equalists." Turning her chopsticks in her fingers, she added, "And the triads, too."

Bingwen had started to shovel food into his mouth near to the same speed as Bolin, but he was more skilled at sudden stops. He looked at Korra with anxiety clear on his face. "The triads are tricky beasts, Miss Korra, and the Equalists seem to be in an even worse boat. I hope you're going about this rationally and calmly."

"Maybe being rational isn't going to work on them anymore," Korra replied bluntly. "Maybe people really need to know that the Avatar is here and isn't going to stand for it."

"And what," said Bingwen, "is 'it'?"

She was about to put a small bundle of vegetables and meat into her mouth, but stopped. "What?"

"What is it that you're not going to stand for?" he asked between mouthfuls. "Is it the oppression of the people by the triads? Or will you be working to stop the anti-bending revolution?" He swallowed mightily and heaved a sigh. Extracting a pristine white handkerchief from some pocket inside his coat, he wiped down the chopsticks before giving them and the remainder of the lunchbox back to Asami. "My compliments to your chef, Miss Sato."

"Thanks. It wasn't too hard."

Bolin, entirely finished with his lunch, gaped openly. "You made this?" He looked at Korra with a sly smile. "You lucky raccoon-dog."

She ignored him. "I want to fight both! Why do people act like I can't do that? I _can_!"

Bingwen held up his hands, frowning slightly. "All I'm saying is that you can't go head-on to both of them. Take the opportunity of the Equalists lying low to figure out where you want to start your battles."

She opened her mouth to argue, but could come up with nothing. At her failure to speak, Bingwen lifted a brow.

"You _don't_ know where to start, do you," he said flatly.

"No," she grumbled.

"You should eat your lunch, to start," Asami said, nudging her with her elbow. "You can't save the city on an empty stomach."

Korra opened her mouth to argue, but the growl her stomach let out proved that she had no argument in this arena, either. She went quiet and started to eat, though not without a frown on her face.

"So, Bolin," said Bingwen, "tell us what Mako is up to."

Bolin was entirely silent.

Bingwen looked at him.

Bolin looked away, spiraling his forefinger in the dry grass beneath them.

"What has he gotten himself into?" Bingwen asked.

"Nothing!"

" _Bolin_."

"Nothing he can't handle!" Bolin protested. "He's trying to get information about the triads and the Equalists for me to use!"

" _What_?" Bingwen demanded. "Didn't you just say that you two weren't doing anything with the triads anymore? And he's actually trying to get information on the _Equalists_? Why didn't you try to convince him to _not_ do this?"

"You know Mako!" Bolin said meekly. "I can't convince him to _not_ do stuff!" He patted his hands in the air in an attempt to placate them. "Look, he comes home every night and tells me what he saw and heard. The only people he's been talking to are our old--uh--the people we used to work with when we were younger. He's not taking any big risks, I promise."

Bingwen did not stop frowning. "You need to make him swear to you that he'll stop the moment he senses any sort of danger. Your brother is a good man, but too hotheaded. I don't want him getting hurt." He turned away from Bolin to look at Korra and Asami. "That goes for _all_ of you. I know this is probably nothing you wanted to hear over lunch on your first day as police officers--or what you might have hoped would be a lovely afternoon outing with your significant other--but I worry that you underestimate the threats you face."

"We're not going to back down," Korra said. She turned to Bolin. "Let me know anything your brother finds out. We'll report everything to Chief Beifong and bring down both sides." She smiled slightly at Bingwen. "One at a time, and little by little." She turned her smile to Asami then, and it grew stronger. "And we'll be careful, too."

\-------

They fell into a routine quickly. Every day they practiced, and every day Asami came to the police station with food enough for herself, Bolin, Korra, and Bingwen, who joined them in the park he had come to call home. It was pleasant, and Korra found it helped make up for the sting of being slower than Bolin.

The fifth day started out promising. She finally sensed Lin moving behind her with her eyes closed, and it had been enough to earn her a word of praise from the chief. When it came time for lunch, she was so excited she could barely stand still. It was all she could do to not race outside to find Asami and tell her the good news.

The appearance of a young woman with short black hair in a long, sleeveless crimson coat, black slacks and shoes, a red tunic, and a pin on her coat that Korra found familiar gave all of them pause, however. She came into the room without hesitance, smiling all the while, and bowed to Lin.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked.

"Who are you?" was Lin's reply.

The woman's smile did not disappear, but her quiet laugh was wounded. "I'd heard that you dislike the council, but surely you know that the Fire Nation representative resigned this week?"

"I do," Lin said. "What's your point?"

"I'm her successor," said the woman. "My name is Xiang." She bowed again, hands held in Fire Nation formality. "I'm here to escort the Avatar to a council meeting."

"What?" Korra and Lin asked in unison. Lin continued, "On whose authority? Civilians aren't allowed to sit on meetings anymore."

"It's on Councilman Tarrlok's invitation," Xiang replied. "He claims it involves the Avatar." She paused. "If it helps, I don't think it'll take too long. I'll return her myself."

"But I have plans," Korra said. She pointed past the woman and said, "Plans for lunch." Xiang's gaze and smile did not waver; uncertainty in the face of these made Korra's voice grow quiet. "I have to have lunch with someone."

"I'll bring you back in time for a quick lunch." She drew a pocket watch out from inside her coat, checking the time. "If we leave right now, that is."

Korra fumbled. She looked at Bolin; he shrugged helplessly. She looked at Lin; she was too busy frowning at Xiang to notice. After a few moments, she shrugged one shoulder and strode to the door. "Let's get going." Xiang's smile widened, and she held the door open for her. Before they left completely, she leaned back inside and said to Bolin, "Tell Asami I'll be back as soon as I can."

They had barely closed the door behind them before Xiang asked, "Have I interrupted a date?"

"A little bit."

Xiang's smile still did not leave her face, but it took on regretfulness. "I hope you believe me when I say that I'm sorry. I don't like the idea of interrupting romance."

Korra shrugged again, tucking her hands in her pockets. She followed Xiang through the station and out the front entrance. Immediately before them was a black satomobile, just large enough for two people. Xiang gestured to the passenger door as she rounded the 'mobile and got inside. Once again Korra followed her, settling without a word and buckling up. When they were on the road, however, she could not keep from speaking up.

"Who are you, anyway?" she asked. "I thought the council was made up of old people."

Xiang chuckled. "It's mostly older people, that's true enough. I'm not the youngest person ever made a council member, but I'm the youngest person currently on it."

"So...you're from the Fire Nation?" Korra asked.

"I am."

"Where from?"

"The capitol on the western side."

"I thought it was mostly noble houses over there. You're not a noble, are you?"

Xiang chuckled again. "If you call being the heir to the house of Arav being a noble, then yes."

"The house of Arav?" Korra asked. "As in, the noble house that produced some of the most successful politicians of Republic City? As in, Kailas Arav, the first Fire Nation representative on the city council? _That_ house of Arav?"

"That's my grandmother for you." She paused as she turned a corner. "Well, adoptive grandmother. It's not like she and my _other_ grandmother could have children." She paused again. "I wonder if I should even call her my grandmother, since she and Grandmother Hova did most of my raising when my parents were killed by members of the Red Monsoon Triad."

Korra looked at her closely, waiting for the smile to fade. It never did, though her amber-brown eyes were dim. "I'm sorry to hear that." Confused at the simple nod she received, she looked away and out the window. Outside, the sky was growing gray and dark. It did nothing to lighten her confusion, and she sighed for it. "It seems like every bad thing I've heard about in the city is because of bending."

"Bending related crime, anyway," Xiang remarked. "Though the Equalists are hardly blameless, after what they did at the arena. That's what this meeting is about, by the way." She looked at Korra from the corner of her eye, raising her visible brow when her gaze was met. "Have you met any other council members aside from myself? Or Tenzin?"

"No," Korra said slowly. "Why?"

"My advice is to listen to your master."

"Why? What's going on?"

"You're going to meet councilman Tarrlok."

Korra stared at her, confusion growing even worse. "You make it sound like a prison sentence."

Despite the words that came out of her mouth, Xiang's smile widened. "I don't like him." She pulled the 'mobile up to a curb and put it into park. "Hopefully, we'll be back here shortly."

Korra wanted to ask her something, but she didn't know what. Entirely dumbfounded, she simply followed Xiang out of the 'mobile and into City Hall. She had never been inside before, and she was struck by the opulence of it. The hallways were long and high, painted in clean shades of white and gold and green. Xiang walked along with a degree of formality: her back was ramrod straight and her arms were folded behind her. Korra was suddenly very aware of the way her wrists were still a little bloody and raw from that day's efforts at the station. By the time they reached the councilroom, she was certain that she had cleaned up at least slightly. Nevertheless, she swallowed nervously when Xiang pushed open the door and led her inside.

"I've brought the Avatar, as requested," Xiang said loudly, casting her voice across the room. It was massive, filled with tables and chairs that seated no one at all. Above them was a balcony that ringed the entire room, and Korra could see a few chairs at the opposite side of the room. The only occupied chairs were those at the room's very heart, placed around a U-shaped table with another chair sitting before it. At one end was Tenzin, sitting with his arms on the table and a scowl hiding in his beard. Next to him was a man in Water Tribe garb, the dark blue and navy that Korra recognized as the trademark of the southern tribe. Next to this man was one clad all in green and gold for the Earth Kingdom. The chair next to him was empty, but Korra could guess whose it was. Last and opposite to Tenzin was a chair whose occupant had risen at their arrival. His clothes were the lighter blues and white more indicative of the northern Water Tribe, and his long hair was done up in three tails. He smiled broadly as they approached, spreading his hands.

"Avatar Korra!" he said. "It's an honor to finally meet you in person! My name is Tarrlok." He strode away from the table entirely, Xiang slipping past him to reclaim her seat, and clasped Korra's hand. He shook firmly and led her to the chair in front of the table, sitting her down. As he returned to his own place, he cleared his throat and spoke. "I thought it would be best to have the Avatar here with us today." He picked up the gavel before him and rapped it lightly. "I hereby call this council meeting to order."

For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of shuffling and shifting. The silence and the position of her chair made Korra feel strongly as though she was being put on trial for something. She looked at Xiang for a moment, but she was rapidly writing onto a pad of paper and looked up for nothing; with her smile still in place, she looked entirely content with life. Korra then looked to Tenzin and was better comforted by the choice. He gave her a small nod, his frown lessening when their eyes met.

"Are we ready to precede, Arav?" Tarrlok asked.

"At your leave, chairman," she said in return.

"Then let the record show that we are all in attendance, and we will now begin discussing the matter of the Equalists."

Fascinated by the speed at which Xiang's pen scratched across the paper, Korra found herself staring. When she stopped writing, Korra was able to shake herself into thinking. She looked at Tarrlok confusedly. "Um, why did I have to be here? Aren't--aren't normal citizens not allowed in on council meetings?"

"Your status as the Avatar makes you relevant to this discussion," he replied. "We are facing a threat unlike any the world has seen, and the world needs you to be proactive." He stood from his chair and began to gesture in broad sweeping motions. "But just as we face a great threat, we also face a great opportunity. The Equalists are on the run after their mad bombing of the pro-bending arena, and we have to track them down before they disappear into the bowels of the city."

"What are you proposing, Tarrlok?" Tenzin asked, voice as hard as his gaze.

"What we need is a task force for the sole purpose of tracking down Equalists and stopping them before they have a chance to strike again. A talented group of benders who can smoke out and stomp out the anti-bending threat."

" _Only_ benders, sir?" Xiang asked abruptly. When he looked at her with a frown, she returned with a smile, turned her pen over, and trailed it down the length of the paper pad. "For clarification, sir. I need to make sure I have the characters right for the minutes."

" _Only_ benders, yes," he snapped. "We benders have the best chance of immobilizing the enemy."

"You want to create a group of benders solely devoted to the task of arresting non-benders," she said, writing carefully. She looked up with her ever-present smile. "Is that accurate to put in the minutes, sir?"

"It's not and you know it, Arav."

"This is a foolhardy idea," said Tenzin. "All it would do is drive a even bigger wedge between benders and non-benders."

"Benders and non-benders are _united_ in their desire to see a madman like Amon brought to justice." Tarrlok looked back to Xiang. "You're our gauge on the opinions of the non-bender populace. What's the word on the street?"

"I don't know much about 'the street,' sir, seeing as I live in the Dragon Flats borough. But my neighbors have said they're just as frightened of the Equalists as they are of the triads after the bombing."

"You're talking about a group of men and women who would be putting their lives on the line for the sake of your personal glory," Tenzin said grimly, fingers drumming on the table before him. "Who do you expect to lead this group?"

Tarrlok's expression grew affronted. "I am shocked that you think I would do this for my own sake. All I want is to protect the city I love. And I would be honored if you all allowed me to lead this group."

"You are still asking us to put a group of innocents into the line of fire," Tenzin said in return.

Tarrlok frowned, but the expression was not against Tenzin. He grew serious, and his voice turned hard. "Amon and the Equalists will not stop. We have already seen the depths to which they will sink to further their goals. I can't even guess as to where his crusade will truly begin after his attack on the arena, but he _will_ come for us benders one day. For us, and for our families and friends."

He spread his hands. "Vote for this task force, and I will bring you Amon in chains. All in favor of this task force?" He held up his hand, and smiled when the other Water Tribe councilman and the Earth Kingdom councilman raised their hands soon after. His smile disappeared when he looked at Tenzin and Xiang and their unmoving hands.

"All opposed?" he asked dully. He sighed at the way they raised their hands immediately, but lifted the gavel with a new smile on his face. "With a vote of three to two, the task force motion passes." He cracked the gavel down. "I will be assembling the task force over the next few days, and we will begin gathering intelligence thereafter."

Korra lifted one hand slightly. "Can I ask a question?"

He smiled at her; it made her feel like a child. "Of course. What is it?"

" _Why_ am I here, again?"

There was enormous surprise on his face when he said, "Why, Korra! I would have thought that you would jump at the chance to be on my task force!"

"Wha--be _on_ it?" she asked, eyes widening. "I can't be _on_ anything--I'm already part of the police!"

"Which is why I thought you'd be eager to join me." He moved around the table and came to stand at Korra's side, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You were so ready to answer the call and join our city's finest when they didn't even know they needed you." He squeezed her shoulder. "Now we _know_ we need you, Korra. We need someone brave--someone _fearless_ \--to rise up and say, 'this will not be allowed any longer.' Will you stand at my side to protect our city?"

Because she had last spoken to her, Korra's eyes flicked first to Xiang. Xiang's only response was to glance at Tenzin, and Korra followed her eyes. Tenzin sat stony-faced and silent, his frown only noticeable if you knew how to look for it. She had known her answer when she said it the first time; the way they had returned her gaze only cemented it.

"I'll be _on_ your side," she said. "I'll be part of the police, and if you need the police, then I'll be there. But I can't be part of your task force."

She had expected a look of disappointment, but she wasn't prepared for the intensity of the one Tarrlok turned her way. She fought down the urge to wince as he sighed through his nose. The most surprising thing of all, though, came in the form of his sudden gentle smile.

"I understand," he said. "You're still a little frightened after what happened."

She bristled. "Excuse me?"

"It really is understandable," he said, patting her on the back. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who helped a great deal of the wounded at the arena the night of the bombing. You must have seen those poor souls who were murdered, as well. Seeing death changes a person. I wouldn't be surprised if it frightened you."

"I'm not--I'm not _afraid_!" she said, voice sharp and loud. "If I was afraid, I wouldn't have asked Chief Beifong to train me and let me join the police!"

Tarrlok finally took his hand from her, lifting both hands to show her his palms. "Of course. But when you've come out of your frightened state, just remember that my offer still stands."

"The Avatar said 'no,' sir," Xiang said suddenly. She lifted her head; there was something in her smile that was ugly and unsettling. It disappeared a moment later, back to brightness, when she looked at Korra. "Is that the correct answer to put in the minutes, Miss Korra?"

Frowning at Tarrlok, Korra replied, "Yeah, that's the right answer."

Tarrlok returned the frown for a moment before smiling again. "Very well. But this won't be the last you hear from me on this matter." He returned to his place at the table and lifted the gavel once more. "Does anyone have any other business?" When there was no reply, he said, "Then this meeting of the city council is officially adjourned," and brought the gavel down.

The sound of shuffling and shifting returned as the other council members began to rise to their feet. Tarrlok was the first to leave, departing after patting Korra on the shoulder. The Earth Kingdom and southern Water Tribe representatives left soon after, leaving Korra with Tenzin and Xiang. Tenzin rose with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry he had you brought here," he said in a rumble. "I didn't think he would go as far as trying to recruit you."

"Did you know he was going to make up that task force thing?" Korra asked.

"No," Tenzin sighed, "though I feared he would make another power play. He's become even bolder after the bombing." He turned to Xiang and tipped his head. "Thank you for bringing Korra here. I hate to use you as an errand-girl, but--"

"But you were worried that Tarrlok's assistant would try to recruit her on the drive over," said Xiang. She waved her hand in dismissal as she rose to her feet. "It's perfectly fine, sir. It's a valuable lesson in learning how to play the game."

He frowned. "These kind of politics aren't games. They're affecting far too many lives to be considered as such."

"Apologies, sir," she said. "I was just always taught to expect games and power plays."

He harrumphed, his cape fluttering in the breeze his hard exhale had stirred up. "Be that as it may, I want you to treat this seriously."

"I treat everything seriously, Tenzin," she said with a chuckle. "You know that."

"I would if you didn't smile at everything!" he said heatedly, jabbing a finger at her face. "Stop doing that when you're trying to be serious! I can't ever tell if you're being honest or sarcastic!"

"I'm never sarcastic to you, sir, that you can be certain of. And I'll stop smiling when things get _too_ serious for a smile."

Tenzin huffed a sigh, but there was no anger in it. He smiled slightly. "Just like your grandmother, if my father's stories are to be believed."

"I learned from the best." She gestured to the doorway. "Shall I return Miss Korra to the police station now? I believe she had a lunch date of some kind."

"What?" Tenzin said, spine ratcheting instantly straight. "With who?"

"With Asami and Bolin," Korra said flatly.

"Oh. Good. Good." He coughed once, smoothed his beard, and straightened his shirtfront. "Have a good ti--good day. Have a good day."

"See you at home," Korra said with a wave over her shoulder. She and Xiang left then, Korra closing the door behind them. At the sound of faint snickering, she quickened her pace to match Xiang's. She discovered that Xiang was holding a finger curled over her lips as she kept her laughter to herself, and she frowned in confusion.

"What?" she demanded.

"It's nothing," Xiang replied. "I'm just always tickled by how fatherly Master Tenzin acts."

"What was fatherly about that?"

"He was worried the moment I said the word 'date.' Very fatherly to do that. Hopefully Miss Sato will be polite the first time you introduce her as your girlfriend. Then again, she is high society, so you'll probably be fine."

"Wait, how did you know Asami and I are dating?"

"There's the confirmation I wanted, for one." She chuckled at the irritation on Korra's face. "Sorry, sorry. But you did confirm it, so I'll tell you how I came to my conclusion." By then they had gone outside and they slid inside the satomobile before Xiang continued. "The first hint was in how you reacted to me taking you away from your lunch plans at the station. You were very confused and not a little unhappy that I was taking you from _someone _. The logical choice is a significant other. Since you said someone and gestured away from the young man you were training with, it wasn't him.__

"As for determining that it was Asami Sato, that took some knowledge outside of meeting with you. Do you read any of the gossip rags in the city, Miss Korra?"

"No," Korra said. "They're garbage."

"True, but you'd be amazed at what you can pick up from the garbage. Like how you and Miss Sato are starting to make headlines."

Korra's cheeks turned bright red. "We're _what_?"

Xiang laughed outright. "It's nothing racy! It's all very chaste speculation on if you two are in a relationship or not. I think the journalists are too afraid of facing down libel suits from either Master Tenzin or Hiroshi Sato to really make a major article about either of you."

"Oh...well...okay." After a moment, she asked, "What _do_ they say?"

"Just that the heiress to Future Industries and the Avatar are spending _a lot_ of time together. They're trying to play up a new celebrity romance, since no one reads those papers for serious business like muggings from the triads or the bombing. You two lovebirds are the nicest thing to read about nowadays."

"Is it something we have to worry about?"

"No, not at all. You two are so innocent about the whole thing that they'd have to tell quite a few lies to make your relationship into a scandal. And, as I said before, I don't think that they're willing to face down your respective guardians if they lied that badly."

"So that's how you figured out I'm dating Asami? A couple of things I said and some gossip?"

"Indeed it is."

She stared at Xiang through slightly narrowed eyes. "What are you, some kind of detective?"

"I'm a council member. You know that." She smoothly parked in front of the police station and sighed as she leaned back in her seat. Very slowly, bit by bit, her smile disappeared. She quietly said, "Miss Korra?"

She was too stunned by the change in Xiang's expression to do more than reply, "Yeah?"

"Please be careful about everything. I know that the Equalists say that you're unnecessary and bending is wrong, but there are still many non-benders who look up to you. None of us want you hurt." She chuckled, smile returning. "And I'm sure your girlfriend doesn't want that, either." She let out a brief sigh, but her smile did not move. "I don't want to warn you to stay out of Tarrlok's way, but I'd be careful. He doesn't like competition."

"Is that why he doesn't like you?" Korra asked.

"There are a number of reasons he doesn't like me, but they're not important." She pointed at the police station. "What's important is your lunch date." She leaned forward slightly and exhaled a laugh. "If I'm not mistaken, that's her sitting on the steps."

" _What_?" Korra said,whirling about in her seat. Through the window, she saw Asami doing exactly as Xiang had said: sitting patiently on the steps with two wrapped lunchboxes in her lap. "Oh, man--thanks for the ride!"

"Enjoy your date," Xiang said, and then Korra was out the door. She hurried to Asami quickly enough that Asami looked up in surprise at the sound of her running footsteps.

"I'm sorry!" Korra said in a rush. "I didn't mean to miss our lunch date!"

Asami smiled and patted the space beside her. When Korra sat down, she offered her the blue handkerchief-wrapped lunchbox. "You didn't miss anything. It's just a little later than usual." Once she had taken the box, Asami said, "So tell me how your day's been going."

She looked at Asami for a few moments, the box sitting all but forgotten in her hands. Slowly, with more than enough time for Asami to turn away, she leaned closer to her. Asami only continued to smile at her, and so Korra grew bold enough to kiss her on the cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A touch of worldbuilding as things cement in my head.


	4. Bakuro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Bakuro_ : Revelation.

Korra checked and rechecked the paper in her hand. The address Asami had written matched the address on the wall. For all intents and purposes, she had arrived at her destination. Nevertheless, she fidgeted where she stood. She paced back and forth, never going in front of the gate in the wall. If she did, she would have to look into the Sato estate, and that was a prospect just as terrifying as meeting Asami's father—as she was supposed to be doing.

“Come on,” she muttered to herself. “So you're meeting some new person, what's the big deal? It's not like you haven't met new people before, you big baby.”

“Korra?”

She barely kept herself from jumping at the sound of Asami's voice. She turned about to find Asami standing at the gate, hands wrapped around the bars and a smile on her face.

“ _There_ you are!” Asami said, opening the gate and stepping outside. Korra was immediately struck by the image Asami made, wrapped in a form-fitting dress made of crimson silk and gold and green embroidery, and wearing high heels. Her face burned when Asami leaned down enough to kiss both of her cheeks; she felt childish in her flat shoes. “I'm so glad you made it! I was worried you got lost.”

“No, I found it—here fine. I just wasn't sure—”

“How to get to the front door, right?” Now that it was in the open, she had no problem answering with a single, simple nod. Asami giggled kindly, kissing the top of Korra's head. “Come on, I'll show you the way. My dad's been waiting all afternoon to meet you.”

A spike of panic was driven into her spine. “Have I been keeping him waiting?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” said Asami. She beckoned Korra forward, leading her inside the gate and onto the estate grounds proper. “He's just interested in seeing who's really been dating me this last month.”

Korra gaped at her. “You haven't told him we're dating?”

“I told him I was dating someone. I just didn't tell him who.”

“Well…why not?”

She shrugged. “Dad's a little protective of me when it comes to dating. You should've heard him when I said those gossip rags were right and I am dating someone.”

“Oh,” she said in a breath. “That bad, huh?”

“It wasn't _bad_ , he's just—he gets worried.”

“So like Tenzin, but worse?”

“You know, we _do_ have a little bit of a walk, and you never did tell me what he said.” She linked her arm with Korra's, smiling at the blush it caused. “What happened?”

“He just gave me a lecture about coming home on time from dates and not to take you into the rougher parts of the city. _I_ said you could take care of yourself just fine if we got into trouble.” Hesitantly, she asked, “So...what have you told your dad about me?”

“That you're an amazing girl,” Asami replied. “He seemed okay with just that, but he did give me the same kind of lecture that Tenzin gave you about coming home on time from dates.”

“So you didn't tell him I'm the Avatar?”

“I'm not dating you because you're the Avatar. I'm dating you because you're Korra. You being the Avatar is just a kind of perk.”

“A perk?”

Bringing them to a stop so she could lean down and whisper in Korra's ear, Asami said, “Power is a turn-on for me.”

Korra wondered if her face would actually catch on fire, given how badly it burned at that moment. She gaped at Asami, who only smiled in the most charming manner possible. It was slight, but Korra's embarrassment was lessened by the blush that had taken over much of Asami's face. 

“Um,” said Korra. “Are you serious?”

“Why wouldn't I be?”

“Oh. Um.” She looked at the sky, the ground, to one side, and then at Asami. “But we haven't even kissed each other properly.”

“Does that matter? You're very attractive.”

“But—”

“Korra?”

“Yeah?”

Asami ran her finger along the curve of Korra's ear, smiling at the way Korra shivered. “It's okay if I'm physically attracted to you, you know.”

“Can you—not do that in front of your dad?”

She laughed lightly and pulled Korra gently into walking again. It took some time for them to reach the main mansion, most of which was spent in amiable silence. Once they arrived, a waiting servant opened the front door from them. Much like she was dumbstruck by the figure Asami cut in her dress, Korra was left speechless by the opulence and grandeur of the entryway of the mansion. It was larger than any of the rooms in the Air Temple by a wide margin, and seemed to gleam thanks to the gold filigree laid in the woodwork, stone, and artwork on the walls.

At the top of the right side of the stairs was a man slightly portly, more rotund than not. He wore small round glasses to match his frame, and he held his hands in the pockets of his waistcoat as he came down the stairs. When he alighted from them, he caught proper sight of Korra and came to a dead halt, eyes widening.

“The Avatar?” he said quietly. Before Korra became uncomfortable under his gaze, he laughed and spread his arms wide. “Asami, why didn't you say that your beau was our city's finest?”

“ _One_ of them, Mister Sato,” Korra protested.

“Please, call me Hiroshi. And you have one up on the other officers, to be sure. A wise choice of girlfriend, Asami.”

“Dad, stop it,” said Asami. “Korra embarrasses easily.”

Chuckling, he held up his hands in surrender. “My apologies, young Avatar. Now—where are you two lovebirds going?”

“Kuang's Cuisine,” Asami replied. “My treat.”

“No, no,” Hiroshi said, shaking his head. From within his coat he retrieved a wallet, and from within that he retrieved a sheaf of yuan. “ _My_ treat, sweetheart. A gift to start your relationship out right.”

Asami took the notes with a smile Korra found forced. “Oh, Dad. Not everything starts out right with money.”

“No, but it doesn't hurt,” he said with a wink. “Now get a move on! You have a curfew to bring my daughter back by, and I'm sure you don't want to waste time talking to an old man.”

“No, sir, no we don't,” Korra said, words exact and back ramrod straight.

Hiroshi laughed, hands on his belly. “I see you've picked up some habits from working under our esteemed chief of police. All right, go on, you two. I expect a good report from Asami, so be on your best behavior, Avatar.”

He allowed them to leave after giving Asami a brief hug, and Asami led Korra to a garage off one side of the mansion. They got into a roofless car, Asami pausing to take off her high heels before sliding into the driver's seat. Barefoot, she drove them out into the city, following the well-lit roads and avenues to a building Korra found as ornate as the mansion, all deep crimson tiles for its roof and dragon-shaped gargoyles at each corner. A valet took the keys once they were out of the car and Asami had put her shoes back on, presenting Asami with a ticket and getting into the driver's seat.

Korra stood staring at the building, once again fidgeting. When Asami lifted a brow in concerned confusion, she grinned weakly. “I feel like I'm not dressed up enough.”

“Oh, that's nonsense. Just look at you!” She took Korra's hands in hers and lifted her arms. Korra looked down at herself, clad in the dress Pema had picked out when she learned of the date. It was a rich, dark blue, trimmed with bright white at all the hems and the belt on her waist, and sleeveless to show her arms. Her hair was done up neatly, and she was completely clean of the dirt from the day's training. Asami said, “I have the best looking date in all of Republic City, and I won't let anyone say otherwise.”

Korra was abruptly too shy for words, but brave enough to stand up on her toes to press a kiss to each of Asami's cheeks. Asami smiled at her when she was on steady footing and led her inside. The interior of Kuang's Cuisine was lit low, deep shadows cast from the ensconced lights on the red walls. The maître-de approached them and bowed so low the backs of his upward-turned hands touched the floor. Straightening, he beckoned them forward and led on.

When they had been settled in a secluded booth only sized for two, Korra cleared her throat. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Are you angry at your dad or something? I think he was just trying to be nice.”

“Relationships don't start out well just because of money,” Asami murmured. She poured out tea for the both of them and picked up a cup to take a sip. “My mom didn't fall in love with Dad because he was rich—she met him before he got his loan.”

“And I like you for a lot more than your money. I don't really care about the whole money thing.”

Asami giggled and brushed a loose strand of hair out of Korra's face. “You're sweet. I hope you know that.”

“Not as much as you! I mean, I don't care about the money thing, but this is probably the fanciest thing I've ever done in my entire life! I'm still kind of a snow-cap bumpkin, but you're still willing to take me places.”

A small frown took up residence on Asami's face. “Is someone making you _feel_ like a snow-cap bumpkin?”

“Not really, no.”

“You can tell me the truth. What's bothering you?”

She shrugged, but the way her jaw moved on silent words made Asami keep quiet. Eventually, she sighed heavily. “I still can't metalbend.”

Words failed her, and so Asami fell back on what she knew worked: she wrapped an arm around Korra's shoulders and pulled her close. Quietly, she said, “I'm sorry.”

Korra sighed again, this time so heavily she could do little more than slump against Asami. “I don't get why I can't do it. It's almost as bad as airbending.”

“Have you ever considered taking a _break_?” Asami asked.

“I'm the Avatar,” Korra said, not without some bitterness. “I don't get to take breaks.”

“You should take one anyway.” She paused to order then, but continued on once the waiter had gone. “There's no reason you should push yourself as hard as you do.” 

“The Equalists tell me different.”

“What are they doing now?”

Again, Korra shrugged, her shoulder bumping up against Asami's side. “No one's sure. They haven't done anything really big since the bombing. The chief thinks they're waiting for the right moment to strike.”

“Like what?”

“I'm not a detective,” Korra replied. She paused. “Maybe I should ask Xiang.”

“Who's Xiang?” asked Asami, brow raised.

“That councilwoman that brought me back for lunch a while ago. I think she's really a detective on secret assignment.”

Asami held it back as long as she could, but started to giggle in earnest. “That woman who you said never stops smiling?”

“She stopped smiling when she got really serious!” Korra protested. “And I still think she's a detective! She figured out that we're dating just from some stuff I said and gossip papers!”

“Okay, okay,” Asami said, out of breath from giggling. “Maybe she's a detective. What do you think she would tell you if she was?”

“You're trying to get _me_ to play detective now.”

“You're smart enough. Maybe that should be what you and Bolin do for your break from metalbending.”

“Yeah,” Korra said slowly, eyes widening and growing bright. “Yeah! We could do that! We're supposed to be police officers, so we should go out on patrols like everyone else!”

Asami's smile was full of pride, and she kissed the top of Korra's head. “You'll do great, sweetheart.” 

Korra grinned a moment, but her expression softened. She took a deep breath and sat up properly. At Asami's raised brows and knowing smile, she leaned in. Asami met her halfway.

A flashbulb went off.

They jerked apart, Asami's face flushed with embarrassment and Korra's with unfettered rage. Now glad for her flat shoes, she got out of the booth and started to charge at the reporter who had been crouched in the decorative greenery. He yelped and bolted away, and Korra would have given chase had Asami not said, “Korra, _wait_!”

“What? _Why_?”

“What do you want the papers to report on, you kissing me or you beating up a defenseless reporter?”

“ _Neither_!”

Asami sighed. “It's _okay_. This is just what the new reporting is like here. I'm surprised it took someone this long to take pictures of me with you.”

“But—what do we do?”

“We have dinner and let the news wear itself out.” She gestured for Korra to return to her seat. “Come on.” When Korra was seated, she pressed a kiss to her ear. Not letting Korra squirm away, she murmured, “It'll be okay. Please don't worry about it.”

Korra opened her mouth to protest, but could find no words to combat the smile she found on Asami's face. She huffed a sigh, but nodded once and settled back in her seat. Because it tickled, she laughed when Asami kissed her ear again. That, and the way Asami rarely let go of her hand from then on, made the rest of the night well.

\--------

For Mako, it wasn't entirely a lie to tell one Shady Shin of the Triple Threat Triad that he wanted back in to the triad to get at the Equalists.

“They hurt Bolin,” he told the man, and every other person that questioned his renewed presence. Over the month, he ran numbers, roughed up goons from the rival triads, and did everything ordered of him to gain places in the ranks. It was all leading toward one goal: being privileged enough to receive any and all information about the Equalists. Shin was the man who kept him most informed about everything in the triad, and it was Shin who finally told him what he wanted to hear.

“You heard that we're movin', right?” he asked Mako one night.

“Not really,” Mako replied. “What's going down?”

“Zolt's got word that the Equalists are planning some big thing soon. We wanna get on them before they have a chance to do anything major to our—” He snickered. “—beloved city. You game?”

Mako smiled grimly. “I'm always game to take out the Equalists. When do we start?“

\--------

“Hey there!” said Bolin, and he held up the badge that was never supposed to come out of his jacket. “My friend and I are with the police. Think you could tell us a little about the Equalists?”

Korra, torn between mortification and anger, settled for pulling her hat lower on her head.

The kids in the apartment complex's narrow courtyard stared at Bolin blandly, a ball held limp in the hands of one child. They soon turned away from him, ignoring his admonition of, “Hey, wait!”

Scowling, Korra punched Bolin hard on the shoulder. “Didn't you listen to the chief at all? We're supposed to be plainclothes cops, and plainclothes cops don't show people their badges unless they're making an arrest!”

“But they were kids! I didn't want to scare them!” 

“Yeah, they were kids! Why would you ask kids about the Equalists?”

“You never know about kids on the street! Me and Mako got our noses into a lot of dirt when we were on the street.”

Korra sighed hard, rubbing her face. “We're in the _Dragon Flats borough_. We're in a decent neighborhood. No one's going to know about the Equalists here.”

“Then...why did we come here?”

“I wanted to ask someone something,” Korra said.

“Would that person be me?”

They turned around to find Xiang standing behind them, arms occupied by a bag of groceries. She tipped her head to Bolin before looking at Korra with a smile tinged with curiosity. “Well, Miss Korra? Did you need to ask me something?”

“Bolin and I have been looking for information on the Equalists.”

Xiang laughed, the curiosity going out of her smile for looking wounded. “Come now, Miss Korra. I already have Councilman Tarrlok suspicious of me being part of the Equalists—not you, too.”

Bolin's eyes narrowed. “Why's he suspicious of you? Does he have a reason?”

“He doesn't like me and I'm a non-bender,” she said. “That's reason enough for our dear councilman.”

“What, that's it?” Bolin asked. He paused to think. “That's a stupid reason.”

“No kidding,” said Korra. “Why haven't you told anyone about this?”

“Who would I tell? The other council members? Tenzin already knows, and the others wouldn't stand up to Tarrlok.” She chuckled. "But that's not going to help you with the Equalists. Is there something I can help you with in regard to them?” After a brief pause, she chuckled again. “But I'm being rude. Would you like to come to my house for tea?”

Unsure of how to refuse without being rude, they accepted and followed her to a small house just a few blocks away. She deftly balanced the bag in one arm while fishing out a set of keys from within her long coat and unlocking the door. Inside was a main living room, a small kitchen, a hallway to another room, and a staircase.

In the living room was a brown-haired, blue eyed woman in a red dress, sitting on a couch and reading a book. Without looking up, she said, “Xiang dear, are you home?”

“I am, and I brought guests.” Once she had set the bag of groceries down on the counter, Xiang gestured to the woman, who had closed her book and looked up at them in surprise. “This is my wife, Jiao. Jiao, love, this is Bolin and Miss Korra.”

Jiao's eyes widened. “ _Avatar_ Korra?”

“The one and only!” said Bolin.

With little else to do, Korra bowed to her. “It's nice to meet you.”

“No, no, it's an honor to have you in our home,” Jiao said, standing up and smoothing her dress nervously.

Xiang chuckled. “Jiao is an emergency healer, and she saw your handiwork the night of the bombing. You're her hero, Miss Korra. But I invited you for tea. Please, everyone, sit down.” They sat as she rummaged around the kitchen. “Why don't you tell me what it is you're looking for with the Equalists?” 

“We're really just trying to get any leads on them,” Bolin said. “You know, trying to do the good civil servants thing.”

“And an admirable job you're doing, attempting to interrogate children.”

“Hey, be nice!” he protested. “I thought they were maybe like me and my brother when we were little.”

“Bolin, she's kidding.” She looked at Xiang expectantly. “Right?”

“A little. Why did you come to this borough in your search?”

“Because we're completely _out_ of leads,” Korra explained. “This is our third day of patrolling in plainclothes and we haven't heard word one of anything about the Equalists.” 

“You _did_ pick the wrong neighborhood to come looking for information from the residents,” Jiao said as Xiang came over with a pot of tea and three cups to sit with them. “The Flats have fewer People supporting the Equalists than most anywhere else in the city. We just want to get by.”

Xiang held the pot out for Korra to bend flames beneath it, and poured out the steaming tea once it had whistled. “And given the attitude of the Equalists at the moment, I don't blame a soul for being worried.”

"A ha!” said Korra. “You _do_ know something about the Equalists!”

“Just that agitators come through the neighborhood and try to convince us to listen.”

“Have you ever listened?” Bolin asked. “Just to learn something?” 

“Oh, absolutely. I seek them out.”

Korra and Bolin looked at each other for a moment, Bolin unnerved and Korra baffled.

Jiao sighed heavily. “Dear, I wish you wouldn't tell people that.”

Korra looked back at Xiang and, wincing a little, said, “Yeah, you probably shouldn't tell anyone other than us that you go to listen to Equalist speakers right now.”

She laughed, which did nothing to alleviate their anxiety. “Only you three and Tenzin. I know everyone else would take it the wrong way.”

“So,” Bolin said in a drawl, “ _have_ you learned anything?”

“Let me answer that with another question. Have you two learned anything about the bending triads recently?”

“My brother says there's been a lot of rumbling about what to do with the Equalists.”

“And the Equalists are rumbling back about what to do with the triads. It's been over a month since the bombing. Don't you think the entire city is on edge?”

Bolin nodded, suddenly going quiet. “Mako's been on edge, too. I think he knows something about the triads that he's not telling me.”

“It's likely he doesn't want you hurt,” Xiang said gently.

“Yeah, but I'm a cop now! It's time for me to deal with the hard stuff in the world!”

“An all-out war between the Equalists and the triads is more than 'hard stuff,” Jiao replied.

“She's right,” said Korra. “You should tell Mako to back out of whatever he's doing.”

He sighed. “Korra knows him. He's not gonna listen to a word I say when I comes to dangerous stuff.”

“You should still try to stop him,” Xiang said, and both of them were surprised to see that her smile had gone. “I'm not being facetious when I say that this is shaping to be a war. That is how the Equalists see this, and benders are the casualties they _want_. If you really need help convincing your brother, tell him that a city council member says it's a foolish idea to get any deeper than he may already be.”

“Yes ma'am!” he said, snapping off a neat salute where he sat. “I'll try to convince him!”

For a moment, Xiang regarded him with wide eyes. Without her smile in place, it made her bafflement all the more obvious. “You're not very good with sarcasm, are you.”

“Was I supposed to be sarcastic just now?”

Xiang's smile returned, all amusement, and she looked at Korra. “Miss Korra, I hope to meet all of your friends if they're this entertaining.”

Bolin bowed where he sat, forehead brushing the tabletop. “You are too kind, ma'am.”

“So," Xiang said. "What do you two plan on doing now?”

“How often do those agitators come around here?” Korra asked.

“Once or twice a week, though lately they've been coming more often.”

“Then we're going to hang around the borough for at least a few days.”

“After I tell Mako to stop getting himself into danger,” Bolin chimed in.

“Right, after that.” She thought a moment. “And maybe after we tell the chief what's up.”

"Give her our best,” Xiang said, taking a long sip of her tea.

“I thought she didn't like you,” Bolin said, head tilted in confusion.

“She doesn't like any council member, but that's no reason to not be polite.” Her smile took on a sarcastic shade. “That, and it's sure to confuse her.”

“Dear, confusing someone is the same as being rude,” Jiao said, but with a smile.

Xiang hummed. “What can I say? I like to wrong-foot people.”

“Mm hmm,” Bolin said, nodding twice. “You're a little weird, aren't you, ma'am.”

“Much to the chagrin of others and the pride of my grandmothers.” She glanced at the window. “But I'm keeping you from informing the chief now, and it's starting to get dark. It's best for you two to get a move on. I have work to attend to, myself.”

“More listening to Equalists?” Korra asked.

She chuckled. “If I can find them tonight.” She lifted her cup in a toast. “Good luck to all of us, then.”

Smiling, Korra, Bolin, and Jiao lifted their cups and tapped them to Xiang's. “Good luck!”

\--------

It was four days on that it happened. The evening after a fruitless search for Equalist agitators, Korra occupied herself with practicing both airbending and metalbending forms. Both efforts were just as fruitless as the search, and she sat down with a heavy sigh on the steps into the main building of the temple for a break. Just as she was looking at her feet, she heard pounding footsteps and looked back up. Bolin was sprinting toward her, face pale despite his exertion.

“Korra!” he shouted. “ _Korra_!”

She took to her feet as he skid to a halt before her. “What's wrong?”

“It's—it's Mako,” he panted. “I went—I went out for some—stuff for dinner and then—then Mako was gone from the apartment! Everything was all messed up—I think he got kidnapped by some Equalist thugs!”

Her stomach turned to a lump of ice. “Why Equalists?”

“'Cause when I told him to stay out of everything until we figured who was most dangerous in the city, he said he knew already that it was the Equalists! He said he was getting close to some— _thing_ they're going to do soon! Something big! We have to find him!” His voice hitched when he said, “I can't lose my brother, too.”

She took hold of one of his shoulders and squeezed tight. “We're going to find your brother.” She looked at the ground as she thought. “And I think we should listen to Xiang about where to look for info.”

“But we haven't seen any Equalist people in the Flats,” he protested.

“It's one of our best places to look, and we've got to try. Come on, we should hurry.”

Riding on a bounding Naga got them to the borough within the hour, just before the sun had fully set. In heavy coats and hats, they meandered through the streets, looking for anything, anyone, any sign of where to go. The hour grew later, and Bolin more anxious. But just as he was about to start chewing on his fingernails, he walked into a slender man, who caught him when he stumbled.

“Steady there, brother,” the man said. “Tonight's not a night to be hurting yourself.” He smiled, utterly happy. “We finally get to learn what the revelation is.”

“The revelation?” Bolin asked.

“Haven't you heard? Amon is calling every loyal Equalist to witness the revelation tonight at ten o'clock.”

“Do you know what the revelation is?” Korra asked.

“No one knows,” the man admitted. “But we've been waiting since the bombing to see what he plans to do.”

“We're loyal!” Bolin said, jabbing at his chest with his thumb. “Where's it happening?”

“An old factory up by the northwest docks,” the man said. “You'll see the 'equality' character over the door. And here,” he said, handing over a flyer with a masked man's face printed on it, “you'll need this to get inside.”

Korra, grinning, grabbed the flyer and Bolin's arm and tugged him along. As they ran toward where Naga was hiding, Korra called back, “Thank you, brother!”

Even at top speed, Naga was only able to get there with just enough time left for the polar bear-dog to hide in a nearby alleyway and not reveal Korra's identity. They approached, under Bolin's suggestion that they would attract less attention, arm in arm, and were allowed inside with no problems when they presented the flyer to an enormous man at the door. The factory floor was entirely full of people, so much so that it was a struggle to get close to the platform at the far end of the room. Korra strained to get a look at the platform, but it was too dimly lit and she was too short to see higher than its edge.

“Do you see Mako anywhere?” Bolin asked in a whisper.

She rocked back down off of her toes and shook her head. “And he's nowhere in the crowd?”

“I tried to look, but I'm scared people'll think I'm being weird if I look around too much.”

Korra nodded, unsure of how else to respond. All words were taken from her as a voice from speakers all around the factory rang out.

“ _Ladies and gentlemen_ ,” said the voice, “ _I present to you your savior! Your hero! I present to you—Amon!_ ”

A great whirring made Korra and Bolin step back, startled, and it gave them vantage enough to watch as overhead lights flashed on to display a group of chi blockers and a masked man's rising up from beneath the platform. The chi blockers stepped back as the masked man strode forward to a microphone at the platform's forefront. He lifted a hand to the cheering crowd, bidding them quiet. Once they had, he lifted the microphone from its stand and brought it close to his face.

“Greetings, citizens of Republic City,” he said. “I am happy to finally stand before you today. I am certain you're all curious about who the man behind the mask is. My story is one that is too often told. My father was a waterbender of the Northern Water tribe—but I am not. For this failing, he abused me, and even though my younger brother was a bender, he was abused for not matching up to our father's standards of talent. And on the night I chose to make my escape from our den of hell, my father destroyed my face for my insolence.

“Is this the life we want to live?” asked Amon. “Forever unable to live up to the standards set by those with unnatural advantages, and being punished for failings that aren't failings at all? I ask you—do we live in a state of balance?”

The crowd roared dissent loud enough that Bolin shuddered and covered his ears. Korra gripped his elbow and shook her head when the shouting died down again.

“No, we do not,” said Amon. “But if she were here, the Avatar would tell us that bending is what _brings_ the world balance, not the reality that bending throws it into turmoil.” He held up a hand as if to stop oncoming protests. “I have heard your concerns, citizens, about the bombing of the bending arena, and I will address them now as I speak of turmoil. I urge you to stand with us, as now is the time to strike back with force. The arena was our opening attack—and now I shall tell you the nature of our greatest weapon. Myself.”

Amon turned and gestured, and all at once chi blockers began to seep in from the shadows with individuals held between them. When the second to last person of six came into the light, Bolin grabbed hold of Korra's hand and held on tight enough to pop her knuckles. Mako, bound and gagged, struggled violently against his captors, but he was trussed too tightly to firebend. He was forced down on his knees with the rest of the prisoners, and Amon turned back to the crowd.

“These _benders_ are members of the triads that so unjustly rule your city,“ he said. “They have cheated you out of your money, forced you to pay protection money for your shops, your homes, your very lives. They have killed and mutilated your loved ones, and all simply because they had the unnatural power to do so. But I come before you tonight to tell you that the spirits have seen the suffering of non-benders and will have no more of it. They have given me a great gift, one that I will use to create true equality. They have given me the gift to take a person's bending away— _permanently_.”

Korra felt her blood turn to ice. To herself she whispered, “That's...impossible.”

“Allow me to give you a demonstration,” Amon said. He gestured again, and a chi blocker loosed the ropes binding a gray-haired man wearing expensive Fire Nation garb. “This is Lightning Bolt Zolt, leader of the Triple Threat Triad. I will give him a chance to fight to keep his bending.”

Zolt smiled grimly at him, rubbing his arms where the ropes had bitten into his skin. “You're gonna regret doin' that, asshole.” Within seconds, he was launching fire bursts at Amon. Amon dodged, seemingly without effort, moving steadily forward. Zolt, scowling, changed tactics and aimed a slash of lightning at Amon. By then, though, Amon was close enough to grab him by the wrist and redirect his arm and his aim. The lightning cracked against the platform as Amon spun Zolt about, and it reached into the rafters when Zolt's legs were kicked out from beneath him and his arm jerked up.

Gripping the back of Zolt's neck tight, two fingers pressed his skin, Amon reached with his free hand and set his thumb at the center of Zolt's forehead. Before the eyes of the crowd, the lightning that continued to pour from Zolt's fingers diminished, and then suddenly turned to weak flame. Less than three seconds after that, the fire died entirely and Amon released him. Zolt slumped to the platform, but soon struggled back up onto his knees. He turned and aimed a punch at Amon, but there was no fire in the strike. He fell back to the platform to the sound of the crowd gasping.

“Wha—what the fuck did you do to me?” Zolt wheezed.

“I have cleansed you of your impurities,” Amon replied. He waved a hand, and the chi blockers dragged Zolt away.

Korra jumped at the way Bolin squeezed her hand even tighter than before. When she looked at him, he hissed, “We have to get those people out of there before it's too late.”

She nodded and started forward, but stopped at the sight of all the chi blockers on the platform. “That's way too many people for two people to fight on their own. We need backup.”

“We don't have _time_!” Bolin said, watching another man lose his duel with Amon and his bending.

Korra looked about for anything to help her think, and her eyes landed on machinery and vats on the nearest wall. “That stuff looks like what's in the station's garage, doesn't it?”

“Yeah, but how does that help?”

“The chief said it's all steam-powered. If I can break the metal, I can waterbend the steam until it makes all the pipes burst. Then we've got a distraction to get Mako out of there.”

“Yes, good plan! Go, go!” he said quietly, nudging her along with his elbow. She slipped through the crowd then, hurrying as quickly as she could without garnering gazes. Just beyond the doorway she crept through was the guts of the machinery on the wall, pipes clanging with vibration from the steam pressure. Korra set her hands upon the pipes, whipping them away at the heat of the metal. Scowling, she cast her eyes around the pipes and cylinders.

“Dammit, there's gotta be an opening somewhere,” she muttered to herself. When none presented themselves, she sank into her metalbending stance, legs staggered to match the positioning of her arms. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and stomped down her leading foot. In the darkness, she saw the narrow corridor in physical echoes. Dimly could she see echoes of earthen shards left in the crude iron and steel that made the machinery, and she focused as hard as she could on those shards.

“What're you doin' back here?”

Her focus shattered. She opened her eyes to discover the same enormous man that had let them inside standing over her, brow raised and confused writ thick on his face. For a long, silent moment, she floundered for words.

“Looking...for the...bathroom?” she said. “My brother?”

In response, the man drew a long knife from his belt. For another moment, they stood without moving. Then, the man lunged forward with the knife, stabbing at Korra's gut. Their height difference allowed Korra more than enough time to dodge, and the man nearly tipped over. Korra's reply came in an upward kick to the man's jaw, and he stumbled back and away. It gave Korra space to spring up and swing her leg one more time, this time from the side. The man went crashing head-first into the machinery, and he slumped, groaning once, to the floor.

Korra winced. “I wish you'd hit everything a little higher, brother.” Shaking her head furiously, she closed her eyes again and returned to her metalbending stance. Even harder than before, she stomped down her foot and felt for the echoes of earth in the metal. Her vision remained dim and blurred, but it would have to do. Getting her hands as close as she could to the hot pipes, she concentrated, prayed to the spirits, and pulled as hard as she could at the earth she could feel.

The rivets popped loose and the metal shrieked as it peeled apart. Steam poured out of the pipes, and Korra, ignoring the heat, reached out for the water and forced it all back the way it was coming. An even greater shriek of metal came through the door, paired with an immense bang, and then came human screaming. Korra sprinted out of the corridor and back onto the factory floor. Everywhere was white, and the sound of pounding feet as the crowd ran from the hot steam. She dived into the fray, dodging through panicked people until she reached the platform. A hop and a clamber brought her atop it, and she found she was alone there.

Another bang made her look about, and she saw a place the steam began to dissipate. A door was soon revealed, and she headed for it for lack of anywhere else to find Bolin or Mako. The sound of earth crashing down upon itself rang out as she bounded out the door, and she found herself standing on another platform above an alleyway. Below were Bolin and Mako, and a masked man wielding two metal rods covered in electricity.

Bolin stood his ground over Mako, slumped and shaking against the wall, and moved not an inch. He moved not as a pro-bender but a man of the police force, sure and flat-footed. He pounded the ground with his feet and fists, sending blocks of stone flying at the man. The man dodged in turn, or shattered the blocks with electrically-charged swings of the rods, and advanced steadily on the brothers.

Korra leaped from the platform, aiming between Bolin and the masked man. Her fist smashed into the concrete as she landed, throwing up a wave of stone to fling the man across the alleyway and high into a wall. He hit the ground hard, attempted briefly to rise, and collapsed with a grunt. Mako, Korra, and Bolin all looked up at the sound of banging overhead, but Korra reacted first by whistling loudly.

“Naga, come!” she shouted, and seconds later the polar bear-dog appeared from around a corner. They climbed on her back and were away just as quickly as Naga had arrived. For a long while, none of them spoke. Naga ferried them across the bridge that connected the western part of the city to its center, slowing only when Korra clicked her tongue and allowed it. Mako all but fell out of the saddle when Naga came to a halt, vomiting when he was on his knees.

“What's wrong?” Korra asked as he began to shake violently.

Mako said nothing. Bolin slid down from the saddle and took off his oversized coat. He remained silent as well while he draped the coat over Mako's shoulders. They did not look at Korra.

“Guys?” she asked. “What...what's wrong?” They were silent. And then Korra understood. She shot out of the saddle, dropping to her knees beside Mako. She took his shoulders in hand and forced him to look at her. When he did not meet her eyes, she shook him gently. He looked at her, and there was misery and fury in his gaze.

“I—I was—I can't have been too—” She shook her head slowly when he did not move or speak, pained disbelief in the slant of her brows. “I was too slow?”

Mako nodded once.

Her heart plummeted, as did her stomach. “Amon took your bending?”

Again, he nodded just once.

“ _No_ , no that can't be—can't be _true_ ,” she said, but she saw in his face that he spoke no lies. Her heart fell even further, and so she looked at the ground. “I'm so, so sorry.”

Mako, still scowling, wiped at his mouth with his forearm. “I know.”

“I get it if you blame me. I was too slow.”

"Then I'd have to blame Bolin, too, and I'm not doing that to either of you.” He took a deep breath and slowly stood up. “I blame Amon. Don't beat yourselves up about it, both of you—okay?”

Bolin responded by throwing his arms around Mako and holding tight. Very faintly, Korra heard him say, “We'll fix it, big bro, I promise.”

“I know,” muttered Mako, and he patted his fist against Bolin's back.

Korra rose up as well, twisting her fingers about themselves. “Mako? I'm really, really sorry.”

He looked at her when Bolin let go, and there was less anger in his eyes. “I know you are, Korra. It's okay.”

“No,” Korra said softly, looking down, “it's not.”

**Author's Note:**

> No, there's not a lot of drastic changes. That's more for later; now is for establishing smaller things.


End file.
